All week I look forward to Shabbat - the Jewish Sabbath - which starts on Friday evening (18 minutes before sundown) and ends one hour after sundown (when 3 stars come out in the sky). Shabbat is an experience. It's amazing. It's everything I could describe and different for everyone. And if you've never had a "Shabbat experience," then you probably don't understand what I'm talking about, but try to imagine. Shabbat is the day when things stop - when I finally get some peace, some really good family time and some reflection. I don't go to work, I don't check my email and I'm not disturbed by telemarketers because I don't answer my phone.

When I'm having the worst and longest week... more

This weekend, we are going away for a cousin's Bar Mitzvah. A Bar Mitzvah is the celebration of a boy reaching the age of mitzvot - the age when he becomes responsible for his actions as a full fledged member of the Jewish community. A girl celebrates this milestone at the age of twelve or thirteen depending on the movement and community. It has special significance for the Jewish adopted child.

When Anna was adopted, we - as her parents - had her converted to Judaism. It was our choice for her. As she becomes a Bat Mitzvah, she will be affirming that she wants to accept upon her the choice that we made. Some kids actually choose to incorporate the official "act of choosing" into... more

It is so important to every family - no matter what kind - to do things together as a family. I know that we are certainly guilty of not spending enough time with our kids, and have resolved to work on that this summer. Well, all the time, really.

Speaking of which, here are a few ideas for what to do this weekend.

Shabbat Across America - If you have not yet signed up for this great program, it is probably not too late. Check out the event, run by the National Jewish Outreach Program at hundreds of synagogues across the country... more

I've talked about this issue before, but not for a while. What's in a name? A great deal of thought, time and hope. And often times, in an adoption situation, you are not the only one naming your child. In our case, as in many others, our daughter "came with" a first, middle and last name. When we were able to officially adopt her, there was no question about changing her last name to match ours - she was now part of our family. But we really liked her first and middle name, kept it, and gave her a Hebrew name when she was converted. Here are some things to keep in mind, and some places to look while you think it over.

-- Does s/he have a name already? If your child has already been... more

Although many - if not most of us - are aware of the traditional Passover seder, the concept of a seder for other holidays is relatively new. Perhaps because the seder works so well that over the years new customs have developed which have included seders for other holidays. The word "seder" means order, and while there is a standard seder as well as a standard text that is used for the Passover holiday, the seders that have evolved for other holidays are not carved in stone, not obligatory, and quite easily tailored to your individual situation. I found... more

I came across this article for Tu B'Shvat at the Jerusalem Post. It has good advice for the holiday and general common sense as well. Excerpts below, full article can be found here.

With Tu Bishvat around the corner, parents are advised not to give nuts or seeds, both traditional holiday foods and both of which pose a choking hazard, to children under five. With an undeveloped swallowing reflex, small bits of hard foods can slip into the trachea instead of the esophagus, says Dr. Oded Poznanski, a senior emergency department physician... more

Tu B'Shvat is the next holiday coming up - it begins at sundown on February 2nd and ends at nightfall on February 3rd. Tu B'Shvat literally means the 15th day of the month of Shvat, and is known as the new year for the trees, or sometimes the "Jewish Arbor Day," though I don't personally care for that term.

From Judaism 101:

Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. See Lev. 19:23-25, which states that fruit from trees may not be... more

A great gift for someone with a new baby, new home, bar/ bat mitzvah or for a wedding/ engagement is a mezuzah. A mezuzah is something you will generally see on the door frame of a Jewish home. They are usually thin and rectangular in shape, though they do not have to be. Some are simple, others colorful and ornate. The important thing is really the scroll that's inside the mezuzah case.

Here's some background information from my friends at wikipedia.com:

refers... more

Why keep kosher?

Keeping kosher is one of those laws that doesn't have an obvious reason given for it in the Torah. The Torah says "Don't kill" "Don't steal" and "Honor your father and your mother" - I think it's pretty obvious what the thinking behind those commandments are. But why would G-d care if I eat shrimp or not? The following from jewfaq.org, which has a good and thorough article on the subject, has this to say on the rationale behined the laws:

The short answer to why Jews observe these laws is: because the Torah says so. The Torah does not specify any reason for these laws, and for a Torah-observant, traditional... more

The origins for keeping kosher can be found in several Biblical sources. However, those who may say that the Bible should be taken literally without any interpretation would never be able to figure out how to keep kosher without the interpretation and elaborations given by the rabbis. For example, part of the laws of keeping kosher include separating meat and milk products (i.e. no cheeseburgers allowed). However, the Torah's reference to this idea is "don't cook a young goat in it's mother's milk."

Biblical sources are as follows:

Of the "beasts of the earth" (which basically refers to land mammals with the exception of swarming rodents), you may eat any... more