Tag: Community

Rebranding Tzedakah: From Charity to Sacred Spending

What if we rebranded tzedakah from our more modern conception of charity and giving to a rabbinic-inspired sacred spending?

Rabbi Daniel Nevins February 20, 2025 Charity Every Day

Transforming Friday dinner into Shabbat dinner

In times where family and friends are more rare than ever, Shabbat dinner is a precious cradle of memories and community is a gift.

Daniela Rusowsky February 13, 2025 Erev Shabbat Holidays

What to Do and What to Expect at a Shiva

The purpose of the shiva is to comfort the bereaved individual or family, there are a few basic steps for when you attend one.

Rabbi Malka Michel February 13, 2025 Death and Dying Lifecycles

How To Live A Morally Good Life

The moral life, with its choices, its responsibilities, its missteps, and its modes of repair, is an integral part of what it means to be ...

Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, Ph.D. September 17, 2024 Ethics High Holidays

Why This is the Year to Celebrate Tu B’Av

Tu B'av reminds that Jewish people join together in tragedy and in love and joy, helping explain why this is the year to celebrate it.

Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz, PhD August 8, 2024 Holidays Tu B'av

Temple Envy

This an exploration of my "temple envy" through the emotions of grief, wonder, and desire for Jewish unity during a recent vacation to Nikko.

Rabbi Alex Hamilton May 22, 2024 Every Day Holidays

What Can the “Push/Pull” of Purim Teach Us About Antisemitism

What can the "push/pull" of Purim teach us about antisemitism? Esther teaches us a strategy that could help us find new ways to antisemitism.

David Harrison April 5, 2024 Holidays Purim

Why I Love Tefillin

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman writes "Why I Love Tefillin" and explores how all people can wear tefillin, based on her own experience.

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman February 6, 2024 Accessories for Prayer Every Day

Doing Teshuvah Outside of Communal Prayers

This teshuvah, written at a time when gathering was not possible, explores doing teshuvah outside of communal prayers.

Reena Bromberg Gaber February 5, 2024 Elul Holidays

Tallit on the Bimah: Optional or Required?

This CJLS teshuva explores where and when a tallit should be worn on the bimah. This also addresses women wearing tallitot.

Reena Bromberg Gaber January 3, 2024 Accessories for Prayer CJLS

Remembering Our Loved Ones Before Us

When our loved ones die, who remembers those they remembered? Here's a way to remember all of those that came before us.

Rabbi Miriam T. Spitzer September 21, 2023 Death and Dying Family

What Can I Expect at My First Rosh Hashanah Services?

The intensity of Rosh Hashanah can be intimidating; read this guide to get to know what to expect at services on our New Year.

Rabbi Lindsey Healey-Pollack September 11, 2023 Holidays Rosh Hashanah

When the Holidays Are Hard

Everyone celebrates Rosh Hashanah differently, but sometimes, the holidays are hard. What can we do when this is true?

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman September 11, 2023 Elul Holidays

The Discomfort of Yom Kippur

As we discuss our traditions and requirements on Yom Kippur, we encounter discomforts that allow us to think about the past year.

Hazzan Sara Geffen Geller September 7, 2023 High Holidays Holidays

Ensuring the Wall Stands Firm

Tishah B'av reminds us to "be active, even proactive," to ensure the walls of our lives stand firm, just as our ancestors did.

Rabbi Dr. J.B. Sacks July 25, 2023 Holidays Tisha B’Av

The Risks of Playing Jewish Geography

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 ...

Rabbi Susan Leider November 17, 2022 Community Every Day

What does it take to feel Jewish?

Collecting experiences helps us feel like we belong. By doing ‘Jewish,’ we create meaningful Jewish lives where spirituality feels less contrived.

Rabbi Susan Leider November 16, 2022 Conversion Jewish Identity

What is Tzedakah?

Jewish tradition does not see contributions to the community’s welfare as mere charity, but rather as tzedakah, literally “acts of justice.”

Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, Ph.D., The Observant Life (Book) June 22, 2022 Every Day Tzedakah