November is National Adoption Month and we had the pleasure of speaking with Chavie Bruk, who courageously shares her story with grace, wisdom, and levity. Married in her early twenties in 2006, Chavie Bruk moved to Montana with her husband on shlichus (emissaries of Jewish outreach) to establish a Jewish presence in the vast, picturesque […]

Eighteen years ago, I sat nervously in my doctor’s office. It was a cold and sterile place. Under the fluorescent lights, as I watched the clock tick by, I felt uneasy and unable to sit still. I came in because at age 36, while I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, I experienced strange numbness […]

lim·i·nal (ˈlimənl/) adj. 1. 
of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. 2. 
occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold. limen noun (plural limens or limina |ˈlimənə|) psychology a threshold below which a stimulus is not perceived or distinguished from another. ORIGIN -mid 17th century: […]

It’s the eseres yemei teshuva right now – the ten days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It’s a time that we should be asking for forgiveness from those we wronged and letting go of hate and grudges towards those who wronged us. There are obviously different levels of hurt that a person […]

The imagery of Elul, the month we recently entered, is often associated with a King. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains through a famous parable that the King, who is usually high up and away from His subjects (i.e. God) is, “in the field.” As in, He’s close to and among us, available for us […]

During the Days of Awe, the blasts of the shofar are meant to awaken our slumbering soul. As Maimonides writes: In the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashana, there is an allusion, as though saying: Awake you sleepers from your sleep, and slumberers arise from your slumbering…All who forget the truth in the follies […]