Even after having experienced numerous school year- summer vacation cycles, I’m still startled by the seemingly sudden signs of Back-to-School. Overnight, backpacks and notebooks fill store shelves which yesterday overflowed with beach balls and BBQ tools. Excitement builds at the prospect of planning a new religious school year with a multitude of opportunities to creatively […]

(Written on 6/30/14) I had hoped and prayed for a miracle – that they would be rescued by the Israeli army in a daring raid like Entebbe, but as I searched my email for a Bat Mitzvah student’s D’var Torah draft for the portion Re-eh, I found a message from JNF: ” This afternoon the […]

Even though I haven’t posted in many months, I continued teaching until the school year ended in April. This year’s one day a week religious school/Hebrew school format was not really a successful educational experience for many families for a variety of reasons, so we’re returning to the two day a week schedule for the […]

For many years, my husband has  studied with B’nai Mitzvah families to guide students in the preparation of their D’vrei Torah.  This year I’ve joined him in this endeavor. Each time we meet with a family, I’m reminded of Aaron Dundy.  Mr. Dundy was my grandmother’s second husband, a quiet, gentle man whom I thought […]

Note: Chai Five posts describe experiences and activities in my Fifth Grade religious school class. The information shared in these posts may be modified for use with students in higher or lower grades and of differing skill levels. Our Rabbi pointed out in his comments this past Shabbat that while Hanukkah is absolutely not the […]

(“Learning From…” posts are inspired by people and events often those which are far removed from the world of Jewish Education.) Throughout the High Holiday period, an image has been floating around in my mind. I mean, really floating! Think back to September 2, Labor Day – ancient history in terms of the rapid relentless […]

Our son, Eric, and his wife lived and worked in NYC in 2001. He wrote these poems in the days following 9/11. Bus Poems The sky is blue, and the bus is crowded. A woman in black gets on, pays, argues with the driver, and leaves. Beautiful people walk beautiful dogs. Cel phones ring and […]

We were excited that day – busily packing for a trip to Israel. My husband was watching CNBC and cried out, “Come here! A plane crashed into the World Trade Center!” We watched in horrified disbelief as another plane exploded into the second Tower. In a stomach-wrenching cloud of smoke, the Towers collapsed. Then a […]

For Shabbat services this morning, our Rabbi and Cantor turned over their roles to two teens who were part of a large group visiting our synagogue, Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, NM, for a multi-day leadership training event.. The visiting teens, along with Congregation Albert youth are members of the National Federation of Temple Youth – […]