Passover preparations in our house begin on Rosh Hodesh Nisan and continue non-stop until the moment we begin the first seder. In 2020 and 2021, additional technological preparedness was required—including making sure our family who were quarantined outside of Metro Atlanta were able to join us on Zoom. But this year’s preparation took on a different flavor as I spent the last few weeks getting ready for the seventh day of Passover, … Read more
Tonight our family will gather with friends around the dining room table to begin the Passover seder. During the course of the evening, we’ll tell the story of our ancestors’ experience of being redeemed, reading from the haggadah, a book that includes blessings, songs, and stories compiled by rabbis over centuries. This year, we’re adding a new narrative voice to our seder, that of Seraḥ bat Asher. Seraḥ daughter of Asher, granddaughter … Read more
Happy National Poetry Month! To celebrate, I’ve decided to participate in the 2022 April Poem A Day (PAD) Challenge. Of course, I’ll miss a few days for Sabbaths and Passover, but I’m not concerned since it’s just for fun. So far, it has been great fun to respond to the prompts, posted daily by Robert Lee Brewer. I’m enjoying keeping the poetry-writing muscle engaged by playing in the poetry sandbox for 10-15 … Read more
I’m finding my way back to blogging, following a 3 three-month hiatus that also included a six-week break from Facebook. During this time I created curricular units, source sheets and lesson plans; taught classes and facilitated book club discussions; read 21 books; and attended a weekly Spiritual Poetry Writing class. I’ve also been attending a Daf Yomi class on Sunday mornings and weekly weight lifting classes at Orangetheory Fitness, in addition to … Read more
While we’re celebrating the secular new year this weekend, we welcome the new month of Shevat in the Jewish calendar on Monday, January 3rd. This is the month in which we celebrate the new year of the trees, Tu B’Shevat. Growing up in the northeast, we celebrated this holiday in the middle of winter by singing songs about the almond trees blooming in Israel and eating almonds, dried figs and bokser, chewy … Read more
In early June, I began to consider abandoning my Reading Challenge goal of reading 54 books in 2021. My mind was consumed by COVID concerns and too distracted to read an entire book for pleasure. Other than reading to prepare for classes and book club, I mostly leafed through magazines during the first 6 months of the year. Then, inspired by an email from Fulton County Library System notifying me that my … Read more
I was surprised to see in my Facebook memories that it has been more than four years since my teacher Rabbi Neil Gillman z”l died, and four years since I wrote about his influence on me as a teacher for the Rabbis Without Borders blog. I guess my sense of the passage of time has been distorted, not only by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but also by the subsequent passing of several … Read more
Last week I didn’t post anything. Here’s why: I asked my younger daughter, who was celebrating her birthday, if I could write about her. She’s an adult, so I wanted to get her permission, and she gave it. However, when I told her I was proud of her accomplishments, she stumped me by saying, “You’re proud that I’m a year older?” I realize now that I misspoke. It’s not pride, but nakhes, … Read more
My spouse recently pointed out to me that, although my blog is advertised as “Reflections about my life, and about the dogs and humans that I love,” I haven’t written about the dog who is currently my favorite canine companion. This kvetch contains a partial truth: I haven’t written a blog post about Henry. However, I’ve definitely posted about Henry on Facebook. According to my count, there are 121 photos of Henry … Read more
This week, while concentrating on creative writing and editorial responsibilities, I decided it was time to send out a long-overdue newsletter. If you haven’t already subscribed to my quarterly newsletter, From My Writer’s Notebook, please visit the home page, scroll down and subscribe. It’s as easy as clicking a button! In other news, my post from October 29th about the resettlement of Afghan families in Metro ATL, “Welcome Home,” was shared on … Read more