We welcome a special Shabbat this evening coming during Pesach. As a holiday that celebrates our redemption and liberation, I share this wonderful rendition of We Shall Overcome sung in English, Hebrew, and Arabic by Diane Kaplan and Meera Eilabouni.
Shabbat Shalom
Pesach is tomorrow night!
Welcome Shabbat and prepare for Passover with this great set from 613!
Shabbat Shalom!
Excited to share that our new book is now available on Kindle and in paperback!
A small gathering of family said goodbye to the matriarch this past Sunday. Adult children and wives, adult grandchildren, and a “bun in the oven.” I was asked to officiate because that is what the family believed mom would have wanted. They and their mother understood themselves in a humanist way, but they believed it was the appropriate honor for mom- to bury her Jewishly. The boys never had a chance to have this conversation with her as she had dementia that ravaged her by the end.
I did my best to honor her and those who were trying to honor their mother by weaving rituals with stories that each family member was eager to share and reluctant to stop. This beautiful family time ended by raising a glass of chocolate milk, mom’s favorite drink, toasting her life and the family that is her legacy.
As I was preparing to leave, the sons presented me with the replica Torah Scrolls given to each of them by the rabbi from their Bar Mitzvah. They found them among the few possessions mom brought with her to the care facility.
May her life be for a blessing.
I share the wonderful rendition of Amazing Grace performed by Garth Brooks at the Inauguration.
This beautiful song is for all of us. There was a time when Jews avoided this piece because of historic frictions. But if we are brave enough, we can embrace the power, beauty, and majesty of the music as we march forward with all our brothers and sisters in love.
Shabbat Shalom
Inspiration and ideals in familiar music, as befitting the inauguration of our 46th president. A prayer in a song for our country
I usually post music to help welcome Shabbat. But today, halfway through Hanukah, I could not resist sharing the incomparable Cantor Azi Schwartz’s Hanukah medley. Enjoy and Chag Sameach!