Tonight we light three candles PLUS the Shabbat candles! You light the Hanukkah candles first, and then the Shabbat candles. Tonight's focus is on Memories and how they can bring light into our lives. Memory holds a central place in Judaism because it connects us with our history, values, and identity. We remember how we got through dark times, and this Continue Reading
Memories That Sustain Us: Hanukkah, Night Three
In a moving piece from Hannah Arendt, she notices that dark times are not rare, but that we have a “right to expect some illumination.” Arendt writes that this illumination comes from human beings who kindle a light with the way they live their lives. When we remember those people who illuminated our lives, it can light us up again and again. Memory Continue Reading
Israel’s “Secular High Holy Days”
Israel’s memorial day, Yom HaZikaron, is celebrated on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. It is a national holiday that commemorates “fallen soldiers” – those that have given their lives for the county. And then within forty-eight hours, we celebrate Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Israel Independence Day, which is today. A week ago, we honored those lost in the Holocaust on Yom Continue Reading
Folding The Laundry
My beautiful precious mom, Marlene Marks Kornick, died in 2020. Her death was made more painful because she declined during the global pandemic, when it was impossible to fly across the country to visit. I have been writing poems to her – Dear Mom - I hereby dedicate every laundry folding to you, and every drawer newly organized - I promise I will Continue Reading
Remembering What is Important
If there is anything the events of the past few months have taught us, it is that every day is a precious gift. We never know what is around the corner - pain or joy or both. How do we remember what is important? Many of us are bone-tired, whether from the endless political battles, personal traumas, profound natural disasters, and the resulting Continue Reading
