My mom and I began to discuss Thanksgiving, a favorite holiday among the Guzik family. Usually, the dining room is bursting with relatives, new...

As I have watched the election unfold, I have done exactly what I vowed not to do: scroll through Facebook and Instagram. And while...

A dear congregant gifted me a beautiful memoir about her father growing up in Poland during the Shoah. Prior to the onset of the...

Our family members went around the table to discuss their favorite Jewish holidays. I love Sukkot. Our older children gave solid explanations for Hanukkah...

My husband, Rabbi Erez Sherman, and I developed a new routine upon entering and sitting in our sukkah. We look around, sideways and, eventually,...

Years ago, we inherited a beautiful sukkah from our good friends Cantor Arianne Brown and Rabbi Randall Brown. Next, we shared the sukkah with...

In speaking about relationships, my professor remarked, “With every first hello, there is an impending goodbye.” Meaning that with each birth, new connection, endeavor...

May this High Holy Days season be one of meaningful prayer, engaging lessons, poignant revelation and strong connections.

Our family is in possession of an abundance of shofarot. Many, many shofars. During quarantine, our children took up chess, learned to swim and,...

Some superheroes wear capes and fly through the sky. Other superheroes manage classes of anxious, excited and confused students during a worldwide pandemic. This...

Some people lose socks in the laundry. Others constantly lose their spare key. My family can’t seem to assemble a complete puzzle. No matter...

Right now, many of us are looking for a little hope. Share your dream so that someone else can find theirs.

Five months ago, I never would have imagined celebrating a birthday during a pandemic. Five months ago, I never would have imagined planning for...

This pandemic has nothing in the face of true love. Not by COVID-19, not by quarantine, not by masks, not by an abundance of hand sanitizer.

But to brace ourselves for the ongoing struggle, we must find those comforts that nourish, replenish and restore. 

Sometimes the world is difficult. Sometimes we want to cry. Sometimes we just don’t know the answers.

 A real community is one that upholds those who have fallen. A true community exists even when times are difficult and scary.

Phrases like “opting out” or “taking a break” don’t exist when you see yourself as a spark of a greater light that penetrates the darkest corners of this world.

The world is heightened with emotion. When someone sneers or complains, it can feel like a snag at the soul. When someone smiles or...

What kind of name do you hope to gain in this world? Are you known as a leader, thinker, doer, source of compassion, gossiper,...

When we were kids, my siblings and I created a time capsule. We put in pictures of ourselves, favorite phrases and sayings of 1989,...

Our family decided to plant a garden. For those who know me, I’m not a gardener. I enjoy purchasing roses of different colors and...

When your child is in “Zoom school,” the silver lining is watching him or her participate in class. The past few days, kindergarten students...

When we watched the rocket launch last week, my son remarked, “I wonder if the rocket is going to meet God.” His curiosity has been...

In this virtual programming world, there’s a new question many of us ask without realizing it: Am I live? We say this phrase in the context...

As the song says, “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” About two weeks ago, we received the notice that adults and children older than...

“Mama said there’ll be days like this, There’ll be days like this, mama said. Mama said there’ll be days like this There’ll be days like this, my...

In our new morning routine, I play the role of Henry’s teacher from 8:30-9:30 a.m. We color, build, garden, learn letters and do puzzles....

Look at a lot of Facebook and Instagram posts and you’ll see picture after picture of people’s gardens, patches of wildflowers that someone discovered...

Admittedly, I’m not the runner in our household. My husband loves exploring different routes in Westwood, returning filled with awe over which sites he...