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It is Jewish American Heritage Month and I get agitated every time I hear this term. It’s inception was declared by President Bush in 2006 (which was predicated by a Jewish Heritage Week since 1980). I remember the first time I heard the following question debated:  Are we American Jews or Jewish Americans?  I was…

Since February of 2021, I have developed a dozen new anaphylactic allergies to a variety of fruits (added to the four I developed between 1990 and 2006). These allergies include apples, which make the Ashekanzi charoset I grew up lethal for me. After researching several Sephardic and Mizrahi recipes, I realized that I was going…

Thousands of non-Jews order mezuzahs after a pro-Israel Christian puts one on her door in solidarity There is a huge debate this week among Jewish professionals (primarily clergy and educators) on if we are okay with the implications of this headline or if we are really disturbed by it. The headline and screenshot above come…

By now, I am sure most of you have seen and read Mo Husseini’s “50 Completely True Things” post on Medium. It inspired me to write my own list of 50 True Things (with a little educated opinion thrown in).  This list is meant to educate, call to action, and inject some nuance into what…

Back in 2000, I started my journey into Jewish Family Education by attending the Whizin Institute (z’l) held in LA on the American Jewish University campus (now a Milikin campus). One of the moments I clearly remember was a story that Rabbi Eddie Feinstein and Harlene Appleman z’l told in a breakout session. It goes…

Years ago (MANY years ago), I began to teach “Hot Topics” to teens, using Jewish text and context (ancient and modern) to frame discussions on everything from Interfaith Relationships to LGBTQ+ Relationships to Death Penalty.  When I started getting requests to teach these same topics to adults, I decided to open every discussion by first…

Years ago I was leading a high school service-learning program and the teens wanted to dive deep into conflict resolution. They researched a few organizations that worked in that field and one they chose to investigate more is called Seeds of Peace. This group brings young people from conflict regions together into an immersive camp experience. I…

This free lesson plan is designed for teens and/or adults (8th grade+) as a way of processing the current war through an exploration of Jewish texts and related Jewish concepts.  It is interactive and elicits a lot of dialogue and personal reflection.   Download Here: JewishGPS Jewish Values Lesson Israel-Hamas War 10262023 Update: Here is…

Note:I posted this piece on my original blog (no longer in service) in 2011.  Below it, I have added an update.   Yizkor. It’s the part of the Yom Kippur service where all the young people hang out in the hallway. While growing up, most young Jews were told one of two things about why they were…

SIDE ONE: Youth Philanthropy Programs I am trying to remember what year I first was introduced to the concept of “Jewish Youth Philanthropy.”  I think it might have been 2004ish, when I was serving as the Director of Youth Education for the Bureau of Jewish Education of Orange County and the Executive Director, Dr. Joan Kaye,…