“We were learning what being married Jewishly means and what’s important to us as a couple, then inscribing that into the wedding ceremony.”
Saying Kaddish for a loved one is a cherished and prized custom, but it is not the only way to remember and honor the lives of loved ones.
How can you travel in a Jewish way? Emily jaeger offers five solid ways that you might want to consider when you’re traveling the world.
There are many Jewish wedding customs out there, finding the right ones for you can help you explore the more subtle emotions of the event.
Making the choices for our queer wedding ceremony including the ceremony, ketubah, sheva berachot, circling, and breaking the glass.
Iyar and healing refer not just to a named ailment, but overall wellness and health both internally and externally.
It is considered forbidden to fast on fast days if injurious to one’s health, for the sake of performing positive commandments.
We give thanks to God every day for the gift of life, but recognize that we are mortal and that illness and death will come.
Visiting the sick is counted as one of the mitzvot that is rewarded both in this world and also in the World to Come.
The period of mourning for one’s parents is a full twelve months, and serves a deeply therapeutic function for the mourner.
Judaism does not recognize any gray area between life and death. Whenever possible, a dying person should not be left alone.
Yahrzeit should be a day given over to remembering and honoring an individual for whom one once sat shivah and is learning to live without.
Rabbi Barmash’s new teshuvah empowers women and infuses the rites of marriage and divorce with more equality and dignity for both partners.
Yizkor consists of a collection of readings and recitations revolving around two central prayers: Yizkor prayers, and the El Malei Rachamim.
B’nei Mitzvot are one of today’s best known Jewish milestones, marking coming of age as an “adult” and responsibility for one’s own actions.
Let’s do more than remember our refugee origin story and include how climate change and disruption are leading to new refugees.
How my family created and passed down cultural traditions, and how the Conservative Teshuvah on Kitniyot impacts our life outside the academy.
Tombstone customs in Judaism stem from the religious obligation to mark a grave. This is traditionally done with tombstones or stone markers.
The halakhah does not generally permit autopsies, due to honoring the dead. However, there are two important exceptions to that rule.
Kohanim were forbidden to come into contact or share indoor space with the bodies of the dead, apart from their closest of relatives.
The period from the time of death until burial is known as aninut – the customs of the mourners during the initial stages of bereavement.
What do I do when I go to a shivah? Remember that conversation should be about the deceased, not the mourners or the visitors.
What are the Jewish laws and rituals regarding funerals? Generally, a ritual washing, burial, and a funeral, each with their own customs.
Shloshim are the thirty days that follows the week of shivah and is considered a period of reduced mourning.
The word shivah refers to the seven days of mourning that follow the burial of a parent, child, sibling, or spouse.
Purim has something for everyone. In celebrating the Purim, our tradition outlines four special mitzvot for the holiday.
Purim is celebrated with days of feasting and merrymaking, and occasion for sending gifts to one another and gifts for the poor.
If we try to look past the tangible, if we focus on the other, in relationship, we can come to see the Divine, even if only for a second.
Moving well beyond niddah, mikveh is now used to mark any and all transitional and transformative moments.
What does Judaism say about the afterlife? Exploring the inherent conflicts between the different ideas and why that’s a good thing.
DIY Hanukkah: My custom of making a potato menorah and why DIY Judaica can provide a crucial connection to Judaism.
Beyond lighting the menorah, Hanukkah customs include special foods, the dreidel and gift-giving, especially when spending time with family.
In the game of Jewish geography, you connect with who you don’t know by connecting through who you do know. But is the game good for us?
Collecting experiences helps us feel like we belong. By doing ‘Jewish,’ we create meaningful Jewish lives where spirituality feels less contrived.
Sara Beth Berman teaches us: Everything you need to know about clothing the body that holds your precious soul for the High Holidays.
Emily Jaeger explains to us: What is the Rosh Hashanah seder, how do we perform it, and why you might consider doing one too.
Rabbi Jessica Fisher reflects on the overturning of Roe: Mitzvot are a rope tossed overboard to haul us up from the depths and back to safety.
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld shares his reflection, before the prayer for our country, on the impact and our civic obligation.
Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal reflects on the overturning of Roe, the emotions she experienced, and the wisdom of Rabbi Chanina.
Being called to Torah is a moment of sacred encounter. Here’s how to call Non-Binary Jews to the Torah based on the CJLS Teshuvah in 2022.
There are several ceremonies that families use to welcome and name a newborn girl in the synagogue or in the home.
Brit Milah refers to the covenant of circumcision, both the ritual act and the festive occasion surrounding a baby boy’s circumcision.
By empowering children to own this decision, we’re helping them to develop into young adults, and isn’t that what a B-Mitzvah is all about?
Aimee Close shares her story of becoming a synagogue member and the power and importance of Pride Shabbat and being welcoming.
Shavuot is the holiday of choosing Judaism. We choose to see the beauty of the tradition and be seen holding it with full hearts and hands.
Risa Sugarman teaches that comparing Ruth’s strengths to owning our own positive attributes as primary instead of our mental illness.
Yakira Keshet offers a poem to commemorate Shavuot, her journey to Judaism, and the presence of our souls at Mount Sinai.
Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow counts the omer and explores the inner self by connecting divine elements to songs that hold special meaning.
There are different sources, published by the Rabbinical Assembly, that express Conservative Judaism’s approach to abortion.
Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow counts the omer and explores the inner self by connecting divine elements to songs that hold special meaning.
Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow counts the omer and explores the inner self by connecting divine elements to songs that hold special meaning.
Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow counts the omer and explores the inner self by connecting divine elements to songs that hold special meaning.
Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow counts the omer and explores the inner self by connecting divine elements to songs that hold special meaning.
The most important thing to teach the next generation is how to make a seder, including what comes before the festival candles are even lit.
We have the opportunity to help teens create long-lasting positive connections to the very traditions they are appropriately questioning.
How is one with food allergies supposed to feel free when they can’t partake in the matzo balls, charoset, cake, or anything else?