Category: Living

A Seat For Those Who Can’t Come Home

This year, as we prepare the seder, we encourage an extra setting at your table—an empty chair for our family still in captivity in Gaza.

Rabbinical Assembly April 15, 2024 Israel-Hamas War 2023 Passover

Exploring Judaism’s Omer Playlist

Exploring Judaism's Omer playlist is meant to accompany you throughout the seven weeks leading up to Shavuot: Bring a bit more music to life!

Exploring Judaism April 8, 2024 Holidays Music

On Passover, We Are All Jews-By-Choice

On Passover, we are all Jews-by-Choice when we choose to remember what it is that brings us together for the holiday.

Andi Kahclamat March 27, 2024 Conversion Holidays

How to Incorporate Kitniyot into Your Passover

Though the Conservative Movement has allowed eating kitniyot on Passover, many still do not. How can we incorporate kitniyot this year?

Nathalie Ross February 29, 2024 Every Day Food

How Mourning Changes You

Pulling on a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper about mourning, learn about how mourning can change you.

David Harrison February 19, 2024 Death and Dying Lifecycles

Confessions of a Fussy Kiddush Nosher

Though Kiddush in synagogue is a great for connecting with community, food options can be challenging and a limiting factor for picky eaters.

Rabbi Adam J. Rosenbaum January 30, 2024 Food Holidays

Why I Change the Melodies: Exploring Keva and Kavanah

By occasionally changing melodies, we draw from both Keva and Kavanah and invite ourselves into a deeper connection with our prayers.

Nichole Chorny, Cantorial Intern and Education & Youth Director at Congregation Anshei Israel January 22, 2024 Holidays Music

Why Tu b’Shvat Needs to be More Than a Birthday for Trees

Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard encourages us to recommit to caring for our world and to see Tu b’Shvat as more than the “birthday for the trees.

Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard, Executive Director - Jewish Initiative for Animals January 14, 2024 Climate and Environment Climate change

Understanding The Jewish Call To Sustainability

Understanding the Jewish call to sustainability is rooted in a new category of mitzvot: bein adam l'adamah, between the self and the Earth.

Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin January 3, 2024 Climate and Environment Living

The Mitzvah of Environmental Sustainability

What does Judaism say about environmental sustainability? Yishuv Ha'olam is the mitzvah to build and maintain a sustainable world.

Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin January 3, 2024 CJLS Climate and Environment

A Conservative Jew in Jerusalem

What is it like being a Conservative Jew in Jerusalem and how do we understand the holiness of the holiest place in the world?

Emily Jaeger December 26, 2023 Conservative Judaism Israel

This is the Bread of Affliction

This is the bread of affliction: Matzah adorns our Seder plates and nourishes our souls, as well—this food is fulfilling.

Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman December 26, 2023 Food Holidays

What is a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, B-Mitzvah?

The B-Mitzvah is a transitional moment when one becomes responsible to the mitzvot, Traditionally celebrated with an aliyah to the Torah.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) December 26, 2023 B-Mitzvah Children

The Art of Assimilating Wisely

Hanukkah—when we read about the Maccabees resisting assimilation and Joseph embracing it—is a time to look at the art of assimilation wisely.

Rabbi David Baum December 14, 2023 Hanukkah Hanukkah Reflections

What does Judaism say about Abortion?

An overview of what Judaism says about abortion based on the decisions and analysis of the Rabbinical Assembly.

Rabbi Susan Grossman, Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner December 10, 2023 CJLS Halakhah

My Good Mensches, We Are Modern Maccabees

We are the Maccabees of our modern time and we have the responsibility to keep the Ner Tamid lit for another generation.

Andi Kahclamat November 28, 2023 #beamaccabee Hanukkah

Jewish Pride Guides My Actions

From a love of Judaism and Jewish history, my Jewish pride guides my actions, both public and private, and defines my sense of self.

Valerie S. Thaler, Ph.D. November 28, 2023 #beamaccabee Hanukkah

Psalms for this Time of Crisis in Israel

Seven psalms as a liturgical response to our individual and collective emotions, including grief, fear, rage, desperation, and others.

Rabbinical Assembly October 19, 2023 Hebrew Bible Israel

Hearts Broken But We Will Keep Living

Amidst the heartbreak over the war in Gaza, appreciating our lives and feeling joy is an act of resistance and affirmation of life.

Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg October 18, 2023 Israel Israel-Hamas War 2023

Prayer for Israel

Rabbis Nicole Guzik and Erez Sherman offer a prayer for Israel. This was first offered at a vigil on October 8th, 2023.

Rabbi Nicole Guzik, Rabbi Erez Sherman October 13, 2023 Israel Israel-Hamas War 2023

Prayer for Kidnapped Israelis

A prayer for kidnapped Israelis by Hamas and are being held in Gaza.

Exploring Judaism October 13, 2023 Israel Israel-Hamas War 2023

Prayer for Simchat Torah War

Prayer for Simchat Torah War by The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel and Masorti Israel.

Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Masorti Israel October 13, 2023 Israel Israel-Hamas War 2023

Prayer for the Welfare and Return of Israel’s Captured and Missing

Prayer for the Welfare and Return of Israel's Captured and Missing by the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel and Masorti Israel

Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Masorti Israel October 13, 2023 Israel Israel-Hamas War 2023

Talking to Kids About Israel (October 2023)

Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal offers some wisdom on how to talk to children of all ages about what is happening in Israel in an appropriate way.

Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal October 13, 2023 Children Israel

Violence in Israel: Self-Care and Mental Health

The bombing at Hebrew University was a transition moment in my life. I got by for about a month and then started to break down. ...

Rabbi Mordechai Rackover October 9, 2023 Interpersonal Interactions Israel

Exploring Judaism and the Crisis in Israel

October 9th, 2023 In the two years since we launched, Exploring Judaism has significantly impacted the Conservative/Masorti presence on the internet. We have worked to ...

Rabbi Mordechai Rackover October 9, 2023 Exploring Judaism Blog Israel

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

Mourning: A Rabbi’s Own Perspective

A rabbi, familiar with leading others through the process of mourning, goes through the same. Rabbi David Baum remembers his mother.

Rabbi David Baum August 25, 2023 Death and Dying Holidays

Deja Jew, or, Asking the Question Yet Again: Why Be Jewish?

Dig deeper into Jewish identity, memory, spirituality, and wisdom, exploring more into the question: "Why Be Jewish?"

Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson August 13, 2023 Daily Living Embodied Prayer

Tu B’av: A Day For Joyous Love

Tu B'av, a minor summer holiday following Tisha B'av commemorates joyous events in Jewish history and celebrates love.

Reena Bromberg Gaber July 31, 2023 Holidays Living

The Torah of the Summer Barbecue

Summer barbecues are great for relaxation and rejuvenation, and an opportunity to extend and receive hospitality like Abraham and Sarah.

Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman June 22, 2023 Food Hospitality

Fatherhood as a Jewish Stay-at-Home Dad

Fatherhood has been a journey of obligation, an exploration of identity, and an opportunity to experience life through my child's eyes.

Rabbi Jeremy Markiz June 12, 2023 Father's Day Holidays

Re-writing the Wedding Ceremony: A Jewish LGBTQ+ Tradition

"We were learning what being married Jewishly means and what's important to us as a couple, then inscribing that into the wedding ceremony."

Emily Jaeger May 29, 2023 LGBTQ+ Lifecycles

What do I do if I can’t go to minyan when saying kaddish?

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 ...

Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone May 19, 2023 Death and Dying Every Day

How to Travel Jewishly

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.

Emily Jaeger May 15, 2023 Living Travel

We Reclaimed Two Jewish Wedding Customs and You Can Too

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. ...

Emily Jaeger May 15, 2023 LGBTQ+ Lifecycles

Planning my Queer Halakhic Jewish Wedding

Making the choices for our queer wedding ceremony including the ceremony, ketubah, sheva berachot, circling, and breaking the glass.

Rabbi Becca Walker May 15, 2023 LGBTQ+ Lifecycles

What Does the Month of Iyar Have to Do with Healing?

Iyar and healing refer not just to a named ailment, but overall wellness and health both internally and externally.

Risa Finkelstein Sugarman May 14, 2023 Health Illness

What is Healthy Jewish Pride?

What is healthy Jewish pride? While exploring the past, present, and future of Chanukah, Rabbi Bernat-Kunin proposes a new home ritual.

Rabbi Gordon Bernat-Kunin, PhD May 10, 2023 Hanukkah Hanukkah Reflections

Fasting While Ill

It is considered forbidden to fast on fast days if injurious to one’s health, for the sake of performing positive commandments.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 10, 2023 Health Illness

Jewish Viewpoints on Serious Illness

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.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 10, 2023 Health Illness

Jewish Customs Showing Care for People who are Ill

Visiting the sick is counted as one of the mitzvot that is rewarded both in this world and also in the World to Come.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 10, 2023 Health Illness

Mourning Practices for the Loss of a Parent

The period of mourning for one’s parents is a full twelve months, and serves a deeply therapeutic function for the mourner.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 8, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

When Death is Imminent

Judaism does not recognize any gray area between life and death. Whenever possible, a dying person should not be left alone.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 8, 2023 Confronting Death Death and Dying

Yahrzeit: The Jewish Anniversary of Someone’s Death

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 Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 8, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

A New Egalitarian Divorce

Rabbi Barmash's new teshuvah empowers women and infuses the rites of marriage and divorce with more equality and dignity for both partners.

Rabbi Deborah Megdal May 8, 2023 CJLS Divorce

What is Yizkor?

Yizkor consists of a collection of readings and recitations revolving around two central prayers: Yizkor prayers, and the El Malei Rachamim.

Rabbi Alan Lucas, The Observant Life (Book) May 4, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

Bar, Bat and B. Mitzvah – Where did it Come From and Where is it Going?

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.

Rabbi Miriam C. Berkowitz May 1, 2023 B-Mitzvah Lifecycles

Climate Disruption and Passover

Let’s do more than remember our refugee origin story and include how climate change and disruption are leading to new refugees.

Yaira Robinson April 3, 2023 Climate and Environment Climate change

Mujaddara on Passover

How my family created and passed down cultural traditions, and how the Conservative Teshuvah on Kitniyot impacts our life outside the academy.

Emily Jaeger March 19, 2023 Food Halakhah

Tombstone Customs in Judaism

Tombstone customs in Judaism stem from the religious obligation to mark a grave. This is traditionally done with tombstones or stone markers.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 28, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

What Does Jewish Law Say About Autopsies and Organ Donation?

The halakhah does not generally permit autopsies, due to honoring the dead. However, there are two important exceptions to that rule.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 28, 2023 Confronting Death Death and Dying

Kohanim and Funerals

Kohanim were forbidden to come into contact or share indoor space with the bodies of the dead, apart from their closest of relatives.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 28, 2023 Death and Dying Funerals

Aninut: What Should Mourners Do Until Burial

The period from the time of death until burial is known as aninut - the customs of the mourners during the initial stages of bereavement. ...

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

How to Comfort Mourners During Shivah

What do I do when I go to a shivah? Remember that conversation should be about the deceased, not the mourners or the visitors.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

Jewish Laws and Rituals for Funerals

What are the Jewish laws and rituals regarding funerals? Generally, a ritual washing, burial, and a funeral, each with their own customs.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Funerals

What is Sheloshim?

Shloshim are the thirty days that follows the week of shivah and is considered a period of reduced mourning.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

What is Shivah?

The word shivah refers to the seven days of mourning that follow the burial of a parent, child, sibling, or spouse.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

The Four Mitzvot of Purim

Purim has something for everyone. In celebrating the Purim, our tradition outlines four special mitzvot for the holiday.

Rabbi Becca Walker February 5, 2023 Food Holidays

Festivities, Food, and Mitzvot on Purim

Purim is celebrated with days of feasting and merrymaking, and occasion for sending gifts to one another and gifts for the poor.

Rabbi Alan Lucas, The Observant Life (Book) February 5, 2023 Food Holidays

Life Exists in Relation

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 ...

Ariel Ya'akov Berry (they/them/הוא) January 27, 2023 Every Day Learning

Mikveh: Not Just for Niddah Anymore

Moving well beyond niddah, mikveh is now used to mark any and all transitional and transformative moments.

Rabbi Julie Schwarzwald December 27, 2022 Every Day Lifecycles

What is the Jewish Afterlife?

What does Judaism say about the afterlife? Exploring the inherent conflicts between the different ideas and why that's a good thing.

Emily Jaeger December 25, 2022 Death and Dying Every Day

DIY Hanukkah and the Potato Menorah

DIY Hanukkah: My custom of making a potato menorah and why DIY Judaica can provide a crucial connection to Judaism.

Emily Jaeger December 11, 2022 Food Hanukkah

Customs for Hanukkah

Beyond lighting the menorah, Hanukkah customs include special foods, the dreidel and gift-giving, especially when spending time with family.

Rabbi Alan Lucas, The Observant Life (Book) December 6, 2022 Food Hanukkah

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

Dress to Impress Yourself…Into the Book of Life

Sara Beth Berman teaches us: Everything you need to know about clothing the body that holds your precious soul for the High Holidays.

Sara Beth Berman (she/her) September 19, 2022 Clothing High Holidays

My Bangin’ Rosh Hashanah Seder

Emily Jaeger explains to us: What is the Rosh Hashanah seder, how do we perform it, and why you might consider doing one too.

Emily Jaeger September 15, 2022 Food High Holidays

Hold Onto This Rope

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 ...

Rabbi Jessica Fisher August 10, 2022 Health Living

Before a Prayer for our Country: A reflection on the Repeal of Roe

Rabbi Adam Kligfeld shares his reflection, before the prayer for our country, on the impact and our civic obligation.

Rabbi Adam Kligfeld August 5, 2022 Health Living

I Cried: A Reflection on the Overturning of Roe

Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal reflects on the overturning of Roe, the emotions she experienced, and the wisdom of Rabbi Chanina.

Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal August 5, 2022 Health Living

How to call Non-Binary Jews to the Torah

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 ...

Rabbi Deborah Silver August 1, 2022 CJLS Halakhah

How do Jews Celebrate the Birth of a Daughter?

There are several ceremonies that families use to welcome and name a newborn girl in the synagogue or in the home.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) June 21, 2022 Baby Naming Lifecycles

What is a Brit Milah: Jewish Ritual Circumcision?

Brit Milah refers to the covenant of circumcision, both the ritual act and the festive occasion surrounding a baby boy’s circumcision.

The Observant Life (Book), Rabbi Carl Astor June 20, 2022 Baby Naming Brit Milah

Your Tween Doesn’t Want a B-Mitzvah? That’s OK.

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?

Dana Sharon Winer June 20, 2022 B-Mitzvah Lifecycles

Why You Should Host a Pride Shabbat

Aimee Close shares her story of becoming a synagogue member and the power and importance of Pride Shabbat and being welcoming.

Aimee Close June 7, 2022 Inclusion LGBTQ+

How to See and Be Seen: Choosing Judaism

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 ...

Rabbi Joshua Hoffman May 20, 2022 Conversion Shavuot

Learning about Mental Illness from Ruth

Risa Sugarman teaches that comparing Ruth's strengths to owning our own positive attributes as primary instead of our mental illness.

Risa Finkelstein Sugarman May 20, 2022 Illness Shavuot

Revelation: A Poem

Yakira Keshet offers a poem to commemorate Shavuot, her journey to Judaism, and the presence of our souls at Mount Sinai.

Yakira Keshet May 12, 2022 Conversion LGBTQ+