THE LIVING JEWISHLY BLOG
Brave New Jewish World
Jewish education today finds itself continually adjusting to just how much the world of our students has changed in the past forty years; Jewishness” is continually being reinvented in dozens of traditional and new ways.This blog discusses Jewish education in the new world, and how we can face the challenge of having to adapt.
Day by Day
In our culture, we are repeatedly given two paradoxical/contradictory messages: Be Yourself & Be Better. So how do we navigate between self-acceptance and the goal of transforming into the best version of ourselves?
Five Things to Do When you feel Powerless about Israel
For the vast majority of people, the feeling of events well beyond our control will be the residual taste of this conflict, and we will be prone to despair. Here are five things to do when you feel powerless about what happens in Israel, to begin to refine your perspective and become a more empowered Jewish citizen of the world.
The Ten Commandments for our Time
Dr. Elliot Malamet interprets how the Ten Commandments translate into modern times.
The Counting
As the planet enters its second year of pandemic, the story of Rabbi Akiva’s students cannot help but conjure up images of spreading devastation and agonizing helplessness. In a time where we have all felt visceral insecurity in the mundane acts of touching, talking, breathing, Lag Ba’omer reaffirms that there is joy beyond mourning and redemption that rises from loss.
Life is Elsewhere? The Israel of Fantasy and Reality.
In the imagination of many people, Israel engenders hypersized fantasies, where each day respresents—depending on your point of view--the potential for violence and bravery and heroism; a haven from persecution or a fresh start for Jewish dreamers; Start-Up Nation mixed with spiritual elation; brutal occupation and ethnic discrimination.
Freedom is A Verb
Freedom is certainly not felt identically by all sectors of society. This Passover, along with cherishing our own self-determination, let us reach out and help those who are not truly free, harassed and threatened not for anything that have done, but simply for who they are, what they look like, whom they love.
When Slavery Is Not Just In Your Head
Many people have commented about feeling “confined” during the pandemic while at the same time according to the International Labour Organization, at least 40 million people are virtually owned by others right now around the world.
Whose Life Should be Saved?: The Dilemmas of Triage
During the past year, medical ethicists and hospital administrators around the world have been involved in agonizing life and death decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic, many of which have to do with triage. In this blog, Dr. Elliot Malamet discusses the different approaches to triage, and how Jewish ethics approaches these problems.
Behind the Mask: The Lives We Don’t Lead
For centuries Purim has been labelled “the holiday of masks”. In our latest blog post, Dr. Elliott Malamet dives into the meaning of the "holiday of masks" and discusses how the era of Covid-19 has caused us to put on both physical and emotional masks distancing us from those we love.
The Plague of Darkness: Waking up to Depression
Through these difficult times, many of us have been struggling with our mental health. May we all find the grace and strength to see each other through these troubling times and look out for one another, so that, as day breaks, we can get up and start to live, one step at a time.
SHVAT: Tea and Torah
We welcome the month of Shvat with herbalist, bodyworker, educator and doula, Ariela Sharon Yomtovian. Ariela is here to teach us about this new month, through TEA and TORAH, because, as she says, “through our bodies, we can touch our souls.”
Hope “Twenty-One” is Going to Be a Good Year. Mitzvot are recommended.
2020 has brought us many challenges that we have endured with strength and bravery. May we have hope that 2021 will be a year of making things better for everyone.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and the Key to Eternity
May Rabbi Sacks’ memory be a blessing, because surely his accomplishments and his contributions have already brought enormous blessing to Judaism, and grace and dignity, faith and hope, to a fractured world.
In Those Days, For Our Times
Chanukah is a celebration of light, family, and food related events. It's meant to be simple, and it is also an opportunity to promote what we call “eight nights of giving”, whether one gives to charity, to various members of family, chooses a mitzvah project across eight nights or eight projects. Chanukah is a concise and specific opportunity at the darkest time of year to bring light to so many.
A Prayer of Light
The glow of the menorah has a special power, one that binds families together and communicates a message of love and faith in a culture where despair has become routine. As Chunakah grows nearer we are reminded of the value of light in our lives, whether the spark is derived from candles, oil, or emotional insight and belief in the future.
The Wandering Eye, The Restless Heart
To listen to the heart or the head? The problem here is that the very thing which brings us to love and joy and freedom also can be the wrecking ball that swings through our lives and leaves everything in tatters.
KISLEV: A Dreamers Month
This month is the month of dreamers and plays between our dreams and our waking lives. May it gift us with dream presence and dream play, and may we manifest our dreams to our fullest integrity, and for the wellbeing of the whole world.
Life Unlived
If life is a narrative, many of us find ourselves wandering for much of the book, not sure how to proceed or even what story we are telling. We need to stop and find ourselves and take back control of our lives.