An Instant In An Eternity

The subject of women in Judaism, women's place in the synagogue, women's prayer, women's anything frankly in religion is a hot topic - and it's not cooling off. We're certainly making progress, but sometimes that progress is painfully slow. I recently wrote about my thoughts that arose after my son's school performance, making me miss the experience of truly engaging with prayer in a community setting. This past weekend our neighbors celebrated their son turning 13 and his Bar Mitzvah . They had the Shabbat morning service at the Orthodox synagogue down the street from our house. That's the synagogue where we don't go - that's a story for another time. They are our friends, the mom does not come from a religious background, so we made sure to get up and get there on time to celebrate with them. I sat in the women's section - which also happens to be the back - of the synagogue. There is a mechitza , a separation between the men and women wh...

New Orleans' recently removed four monuments to the Confederacy from the city. Mayor Mitch Landrieu gave a moving, thoughtful, and inspiring speech explaining the history, context, and necessity for this action. I came to watch his speech after reading Frank Brunei's column , I recommend you, too, read this column and then watch the video embedded in his column. It's worth the time. And tell others to read and watch it, too. That's what we have to do - we have to tell others to read, watch, listen, read, consider - it's how we'll come together and open our minds to find a way to come back together. Landrieu made a beautiful point, "Indivisibility is our essence", he said about the United States of America. He's right. He's 100% right. The Pledge of Allegiance calls for "one nation, indivisible under god", that's our essence. We must remember that - and to truly be indivisible, we must find a way that we are all part of o...

I grew up in a Reform community. It was the only Jewish community that served not only my city but also the larger county and even parts of the neighboring country. When I was in college, after visits to Israel, I found myself increasing the amount of religious observance in my life. Having been a vegetarian for many years, kashruth was not a concern. Fundamentally I was keeping kosher. Observing Shabbat, marking the end of each week was a new experience for me. That meant both participating more fully in Hillel activities for Friday night and also making my room a Shabbat observance space - walking places, not turning lights on and off, no computer, no phone. It was a good opportunity to recharge during the hectic atmosphere of college. After college I found myself participating in a large, Conservative synagogue and thoroughly finding my place, feeling that what I needed from Judaism, what I needed from prayer was being met. Then I got married (in a Conservative synagogue by a ...