"Hey, when is Chanukah?" It's only when I get asked that question by a non-Jewish friend that I mumble something and then remind myself that I must look at a calendar. Christmas is December 25th, year in and out, because Christian holidays are based off the Gregorian calendar. July 4th never fails to come out between the 3rd and the 5th. But the Jewish calendar is on the lunar year, which means that holidays always come out on the same day on the Jewish calendar, but seem to move without rhyme or reason on the Gregorian calendar.

There is actually... more

I posted an article few days ago on the topic of Trick or Treating on Halloween. Since life (read: six month old baby who is not interested in sleeping) gets in the way, it's taken me a few days to follow up. Angela posted the following comment and I wanted to post a response.

Comment from: Angela Weird... but I never knew that I could be offended by someone writing about Halloween. And I really never knew that I would feel defensive about Halloween. It is a minor holiday that isn't even a legal holiday.

This person has totally... more

As we are once again at Halloween, I wanted to post my favorite article on whether or not Jewish families should let their children go trick or treating. Please note that the article really does apply to everyone - not just Jews - and as a side note, Anna's former foster family - devout Christians - do not allow their kids to go trick or treating as they feel it is not in line with thier beliefs. This article is from Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning and is

Decide for yourselves...

Q: Dear Reb... more

In Judaism, there are four main branches. Reform, Reconstructionism, Conservative and Orthodox. Of those, Reform and Reconstructionism will accept "patralineal descent" - meaning if your father is Jewish, but your mother is not, then you are Jewish. However, Conservative and Orthodox groups have followed the original tradition of only accepting "matrilineal descent" - meaning that your mother must be Jewish, and will not accept those of patralineal descent as Jews unless they convert. (If one is a convert, then this is a moot point. If one is adopted, conversion is necessary if one would not be considered Jewish because of the birth parent's religion according... more

I'm a classic rock kind of gal. I grew up on The Beatles, The Grateful Dead and The Who. Right now, I listen to Janis Joplin, Bird York, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I will forever be in love with Billy Holiday. But I have to tell you about this recent find...

Matisyahu, for those of you who haven't heard, is a hit rap/ reggae artist. His song, "King Without a Crown," is currently in the top 100 downloaded songs from iTunes.com. His music has been seen on VH1, MTV, and I've heard his songs on the mainstream "top 40" type radio stations in my area. His concerts have been selling out at major venues from New York City to San Diego.

And... more

Many people - Jews and non-Jews - are familiar with the Passover seder, a tradition that takes place on the first two nights of the holiday (or first night only if you live in Israel). The seder is open for people to add their own questions, words of wisdom, stories, family customs and more. I mentioned earlier that a very high percentage of Jews - affiliated and non-affiliated - do attend Passover seders. I wanted to bring you a further excerpt from this article in the San Diego Jewish... more

I'm not quite sure where March went. Seriously - someone owes me a month. As much as last week was the slowest week in the world it really seems to me like the entire month flew by. This year is going so quickly.

Passover is rapidly approaching. This well known holiday is also one of my two favorites from the Jewish Calendar. According to the National Jewish Population Survey conducted by the United Jewish Communities, approximately 67% of American Jewry attend or host a Passover Seder. Other local groups also conducted their own surveys around the... more

This has been, by far, one of the busiest and yet somehow one of the slowest weeks in my life. Maybe it's because I'm a huge West Wing addict and I'm not quite sure how I'll get through until Sunday night. And there are only seven more episodes left! I don't watch anything else on TV except the news, and am seriously contemplating what I'll be doing with my extra hour a week after this amazing show ends in May....so sad... What would you do with an extra hour a week?

Anyway, as I was wandering around the Internet, I stumbled on a really cool site - The National Center for the Hebrew Language: Building... more

My week revolves around just getting through the week to the end of Friday. Most of my week is spent probably very much like yours - I work, I chase my three year old around the house, I come up with something to make for dinner, I pay the bills, return phone calls, meet with caseworkers, talk to people contemplating adoption, I do laundry (occasionally), I get random rolls of film developed (we have a habit of getting pictures developed after a used roll of film has sat around for a good couple of years - that way its always a surprise what pictures we are getting...). My week is always hectic, and although I'm not working full time right now, I feel very much part of the... more

I wanted to write a clarifying post after Wessel commented. I think she's right - the term Jewish American/ American Jew is something that people rarely give much thought to, which is why I said towards the end of my posting that perhaps I was giving meaning to an insignificant term after all.

The issue of saying that one is an American Jew or a Jewish American is a topic often discussed in Hebrew Schools and day schools as a way to get kids thinking about their identity, but it usually ends there. As for me personally, there were many years where I wouldn't even check off "Jewish" when a form asked... more