I observed three LOVEly things while sitting in the sanctuary for Yom Kippur services today. 1. The gentleman who has been my second grade co-teacher in Religious School for twelve years was called up to the bima with his wife to do an aliyah (a blessing before a Torah reading). He is a member of our High Holidays choir and very outgoing and funny; she is quiet and not too many people at the temple know her well because she’s had major health problems for years. I have met her a few times and have spoken with her on the phone a few times too, when I’ve called him to…

Tonight (at sundown), a major Jewish holiday begins. Here’s last year’s post on it, in case you want to gain a little more knowledge about it. Yom Kippur is the “Day of Atonement”, on which Jews all over the world atone for any wrongdoings that they have caused over the past year. We fast for the 25 hour period*, and our family spends a nice chunk of the day in services at the synagogue. The nice thing about being hungry at the temple is that everyone else is hungry too; it’s like a mass stomach-growling festival! The reason that we fast is to help us be introspective, to think about…

Rosh Hashanah began last night at sundown, so I want to wish my Jewish readers (Rockdrool, Lilacspecs, Movie Maven, and all of the rest of you out there!) L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu: may you be inscribed for a sweet year. I wrote about Rosh Hashanah and what it is last year; you can find that post here. We’re headed to services at the temple this morning; I’m looking forward to it. To be honest, we have not gone to temple very much at all in the past few months. Today (as well as on Yom Kippur, a week from Monday) there will be a jam-packed sanctuary; the High Holidays are much…

Tonight is the seventh night of Hanukkah. Only tomorrow night remains and then it’s all over until…when? Hanukkah 2009 begins at sundown on December 11! It’s gonna be great; that means that next year, I’ll be done celebrating Hanukkah just as the last-minute Christmas shoppers are just getting revved up. Confused? Let me explain. While Christmas falls on the same day of the Gregorian calendar each year, Hanukkah is different…on the GREGORIAN calendar. On the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah actually does fall on the very same day annually: the 25th day of the month Kislev. The Hebrew calendar is different from the Gregorian (January-December) calendar. In order to make a long…

I was raised as a Reform (liberal) Jew. Although I am originally from the Chicago area, my family did not live “up on the North Shore”, where the heaviest concentration of Jews in this area is. We lived in the south suburbs, and although we belonged to a thriving temple, I was the only Jewish girl in my public school. I don’t recall being particularly open about my religion as a kid; I didn’t necessarily hide it but I also typically didn’t call attention to it. My parents didn’t start me on Hebrew school in 3rd grade as was typical (for Bat Mitzvah training) and, a couple of moves later…