Category: Living

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 Mitzvah 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 Dunat (they/them) 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 all about choosing Judaism. We choose to see the beauty of the tradition and be seen holding it with full hearts and hands.

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+