This past Sunday, our Jewish Federation held its 29th Annual Meeting. This event each year is a chance for us to look back at all we have done in the year prior and what is in store for the year to come. In addition, this year, we awarded two scholarships – the Kimberly Dawn Ellis scholars…
As you might expect, I interact with a lot of people. It just comes with my position and the fact that I try to be “out and about” as much as possible. Over the last couple of months, these interactions have taken a bit of a turn, depending on whether I am talking with Jews or non-Jews.
One of my favorite aspects of this time of year are the retrospective looks at the year that was – what the memorable highlights were, as well as the events that will leave their indelible mark for years to come.
I have done the same thing for the last several years for our Jewish Federat…
I did something last night that I have not done for quite a while…. I went with my daughter to see a movie (on a school night) that began at 8:45 p.m. While I knew that I would probably be a bit tired this morning, spending this time with my daughter, who is home on break from college, wa…
I am a lifelong sports fan, and this is a favorite time of the year for fans like me. The baseball playoffs are just starting, and college and professional football are in full swing. Plus, the preseason of basketball and hockey is beginning as well. It is an exciting time. For the Jewish co…
As I write this week's column, I am streaming Radio Hanukkah on my computer from SiriusXM (Channel 638). I have been listening as I usually do each year, off and on since it began. I love that during Hanukkah, people can listen to Hanukkah and Jewish songs (on the radio), especially at this …
I have a confession to make. Hanukkah snuck up on me this year. Whether it is because my attention has been focused on other things lately or that as I have gotten older, this holiday doesn’t hold the same meaning as it once did, it was not until after I got back from my family’s Thanksg…
I absolutely love that society has "adopted" special days to celebrate certain things during the year. I mean days like International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19), National Coffee Day (September 29), National Hamburger Day (May 28), and my personal favorite… National Doughnut Day …
One day, my oldest daughter shared with me that she had finally figured out what I did for a living. When I asked, she said, "You schmooze." I thought about it for a while and realized she was right. Not in a negative way but more so the fact that I enjoy talking to people. Earlier this morn…
Last night, I talked with a friend I had not spoken with in a while. After catching up about the family and what everyone has been up to. Inevitably, he asked me how I was doing, which, as many people are currently feeling, is a loaded question, especially following October 7. I shared some …
It is hard to believe that ONLY two and a half weeks ago, our world was turned upside down following the brutal attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. As the days have passed and our eyes have been glued to all of the news coverage, social media posts, and the like, many in our community are …
With each passing day, more and more stories and reports are coming out of Israel. And it is hard to feel like we need to get as much information as possible, while at the same time not feeling like it is consuming our every moment or that we are feeling overwhelmed. These feelings are norma…
There are moments in my life where I have been left speechless. You know that feeling… when you either don’t feel you have the right words to say or that there are so many thoughts swirling in your head that you just don’t know how to begin? I suspect many of us have experienced that f…
In his 1963 book Strength to Love, a seminal collection of sermons, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared the following message – “Returning hate for hate multiples hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.…
As I sat in services for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur, I was reminded of how incredible the High Holy Days are. It is not because, as our Machzor says, “The days are awesome and full of dread.” It is more about the fact that there is no other time of the Jewish year that people feel more Jew…
