I spent much of my childhood wishing that I had Holocaust survivors in my family. Now before you completely judge me for having such an insane wish, hear me out. I was raised to be a proud Jew, but did not have much of a foundation for that pride. Our minimal observance occurred only when […]

For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us…We will soon be saying these words at the Passover seder, but they ring so true right now. The murder of three Jewish children and a young rabbi in Toulouse this week was […]

I never thought of myself  as a callous person, and yet, I can’t deny that there were times when I was just too “busy” to stop and treat certain situations with the importance they deserved. Like on the morning of September 11, 2001, when my mom (who has a tendency to over-worry) called to report […]

Yesterday morning, when the baby started crying, my 8 year old daughter ran out of bed to get him so that my husband and I could sleep a little longer. After nearly a decade of constant exhaustion spread over the rearing of four children, getting those extra 15 minutes of rest was divine. It wasn’t […]

Her name was Laura Dirken and she had the loveliest locks in the grade. Don’t believe me? The proof still lies in the hall of fame section of my 8th grade yearbook where you’ll see that Ms. Dirken was voted “best hair” in our class. If you think those things are just popularity contests, you’re […]