Yemenite Jews participating in Tashlich, Rosh Hashana, 1926. (photo by Shimon Korbman, Shalom Meir Tower, Tel Aviv via Wikimedia) Readers will perhaps find it hard to believe, but the custom of Tashlich, which has become an integral part of the…
Until this summer’s drought, most Vancouverites would have prayed for weather that made their umbrellas unnecessary. These High Holidays, however, many of us will be joining more wholeheartedly in the prayer for rain. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) I never gave…
This month, the Reform movement’s new High Holiday prayer book, Mishkan HaNefesh, is being published. It replaces Gates of Repentance, which has served the movement since 1978, and is a companion to the movement’s siddur, Mishkan T’filah, which was published…
The great epic poet Homer once said, “For rarely are sons similar to their fathers; most are worse, and a few are better.” In honor of Father’s Day, here are some quick facts about some rather unfamous (though not all…
Silk Road Vegetarian: Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten Free Recipes from the Mindful Cook by Dahlia Abraham-Klein (Tuttle Publishing Co., 2014) contains 121 recipes in eight chapters, several of which would be ideal for Shavuot. Although Abraham-Klein grew up in New…
As a famous Jewish comedian used to kvetch, “I don’t get no respect.” I feel we treat Shavuos similarly. In Temple days, how would you compare the Holy of Holies to a Jerusalem tavern down the street? Silly question, yes?…
The author and her mother at Matanuska Glacier on a previous Mother’s Day adventure. (photo from Masada Siegel) At a party a few years back, a high school friend approached my husband and cheekily said, “You do realize your wife…
Israeli musician Micha Biton headlined the community’s Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration. (photo by Rhonda Dent) It was just shy of a sellout crowd on April 22 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, as Israeli rock pioneer Micha Biton headlined…
How fast time flies. Passover is almost here again, and it’s time to prepare a new tutorial, I said to my 7-year-old daughter while getting out a magic box with colorful modeling clay. At school, we are reading a lot…
Paula Shoyer’s eggplant parmesan, featured in her latest cookbook, The New Passover Menu. (photo by Michael Bennett Kress) The New Passover Menu by Paula Shoyer (Sterling, 2014) emboldened me. It was the whole package: the full-color photos, the clear text (blue…
