Do I Believe in God? I’m Not So Sure
“Do you believe in God, Mama?” A hard lump of something rose up from deep in my chest and got lodged in my throat. This was the kind of question that pierced right to the heart of things, the kind...
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Why is There No Ritual For the Completion of a Family?
“Are you sure?” my OB asked at my very first appointment. “Yes,” I replied without hesitation. “Absolutely.” Joking about my husband, the rabbi, she scheduled my third C-section for December 24th...
View ArticleMy Island Family Surprised Me With a Simchat Bat
Lately, being Jewish on North Haven–the small island in Maine where we live–has felt like a non-issue, though I still tend to think of myself as the only one. Which made it all the more surprising...
View ArticleMy Plan to Give My Daughter a Unique Bat Mitzvah Isn’t Going So Well
My oldest daughter will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah this December. I have a bit of chip on my shoulder about it. Actually, it’s not just her bat mitzvah that I’m cynical about, it’s the...
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Welcome to the Month of Very Loud Noises
This morning started with a blast. Actually, many blasts. Our shofar has emerged. Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the Hebrew month preceding Rosh Hashanah. There is a minhag (custom) of...
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The Unexpected Way My Son With Down Syndrome Blossomed at Jewish Camp
Jewish memories are made of this: sneaking out with my bunkmates for a thrilling nighttime swim. Israeli dancing on the lawn in the sunshine before lunch. Singing the birkat hamazon with gusto after...
View ArticleMy Daughter Lost Interest in Shabbat When She Turned 3–So We Tweaked It
We used to love Shabbat in our home. When my daughter was 2 years old we sang “Penny in the Pushke” while she put coins in the tzedakah (charity) box, swayed together to “Moving into Shabbos Time,”...
View ArticleThe Unexpected Way My Daughter With Autism Embraced Her Jewish Identity
One of the duties thrust upon us as Jewish parents is to live a Jewish life so that our children may also develop a Jewish identity. I must admit that I am a failure at that most of the time. See, I...
View ArticleHow to Do Yom Kippur Without Fasting
I am not going to fast on Yom Kippur. There, I’ve said it publicly and that means I have to do it. I want to fast, however I haven’t been allowed to fast since 1998 when I was hospitalized for...
View ArticleHas the Bat Mitzvah Party Overtaken the Bat Mitzvah?
I knew bat mitzvahs were a bad idea. I told my husband this in 2001, about 20 minutes after we returned from the hospital with our two new daughters and he said, “My parents want to know when the baby...
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Friday Night: Rituals That Aren’t So Hard to Keep
Nothing like a ritual to wake you up. Last Friday I paced in the kitchen of our tiny apartment, waiting for Avi and Maya to wake up from their nap. Generally, I’ll do anything to ensure that they keep...
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Friday Night: The Key to a Good Challah
Last Friday, exhausted and still jet lagged from our Passover travels to Canada, I found myself up at the crack of dawn, elbow-deep in challah dough and determined to make a challah–in the shape of a...
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My Daughter Got Too Old for the Shema
“No, Mommy. No Shema tonight.” “Why not?” “Nobody else does it at bedtime.” And so it begins. We were on vacation last week, and my 3 1/2-year-old was overjoyed to be sharing a room with three other...
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Little Known Jewish Prayers, Written By and For Women
Giving birth was the most spiritual experience I ever had. It was as if my body, mind and soul–my very being–was on high alert. I felt a new closeness to the man with whom I had fallen in love years...
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How My Toddler’s Tedious Bedtime Ritual is Actually a Lot Like Prayer
Each night before my daughter, age 2.5, goes to sleep, she has a “special minute” with my husband, and then one with me. This started as a compromise so that we didn’t both have to be present every...
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Yes, Mayim, You Can Still Go to the Mikveh
Credit: Tom Kates It’s been a year since you wrote “Since My Divorce, I’m Missing the Mikveh,” and you know what, Mayim? You and I have a lot in common. OK, so I’m not a movie star. But I have...
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What They Bring Home From Camp
The voice mail came in while we were swimming. It was Saturday, the afternoon before Noah’s sleepaway camp ended. Infirmary. 100.7 fever. “Do you want to get him tonight or have us keep him here until...
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Our Guinea Pig’s Jewish Funeral
When a Kveller reader recently sought advice on finding a Jewish ritual for mourning the passing of her cat, I wrote off the request as being outside of the boundaries of normative Jewish practice....
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