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Ruthie and one of our Temple buddies during a special visit this summer in Maine
This past year was our first...
Our Attempt at Planning a Family Vacation and Baby’s First Fever
We had been planning our vacation to upstate New York for six months. The hotels book up by the end of August,...
The Battle of the Bar Mitzvah Guest List
Before I signed the contract for the place where we would have our son’s bar mitzvah, I needed a rough...
Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Camp, Extended Family, Parenting Stories, Teenagers
30 Miles North of Lakewood
Jack is concerned about being the only Jewish kid on the block
“Thirty miles north of Lakewood”...
Leaving Your Work Baby to Have a Real Baby
One of the most difficult aspects of pregnancy for me—especially right now in week 36—is the prospect of leaving...
Can Kids (or Anyone) Learn Prayer Through Osmosis?
Osmosis is a subtle or gradual absorption or mingling. Sometimes we joke that you can’t learn something...
Why a Raisin Has Never Tasted So Good
I always spend some time as Rabbi in Residence at Camp Tawonga in California each summer, and it is always...
The Challenges of Keeping Kosher at an Interfaith Birthday
Growing up, my mother’s house was kosher. We had dishes for dairy and dishes for meat and we never mixed milk...
My Son’s Bris: Why I Was Not Prepared for This
Jack’s Bris: Sam, Anne & baby Jack
Before Jack was born, I thought I prepared as much as...
Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Birth Stories, Bris, Circumcision, Extended Family, Growing Up Interfaith, Parenting Stories
The Bar Mitzvah Brings Out the Big Questions
Our son will become a bar mitzvah in about a year, and I imagine that this will be the first in a series of...
Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Extended Family, Parenting Stories, Teenagers
My Favorite Interfaith Children’s Book
When I was a child there were two books I wanted desperately to hear before bedtime. The first was Goodnight...
I Was the Only Jewish Kid on the Block & Worry My Kid Will Be, Too
Growing up in a small, rural town in northern New Jersey in the ’80s, I never had perfect attendance in school....
Summer Camp (Parent) Blues
Like many parents, for me this time of year signifies both an overwhelming sense of relief (Yesss! No more homework...
Camp, Divorce, Parenting Shabbat, Parenting Stories, Young Kids
Mourning, Friendship and the Future
Baby Helen meets Liz
I was in the seventh grade when my father died. I had already been asked to leave an Orthodox...
Babies, Death & Mourning, Death & Mourning Stories, Parenting Stories, Young Kids
Camp: the Shabbat of the Year
Last Friday morning I took my cup of coffee and my smoothie outside to my patio. I sunk into an Adirondack...
Celebrating Two Faiths Without My Parents’ Blessing
Sam’s baby naming ceremony (Sheri and Sam are the mother/baby on the right)
Thirteen years ago I married...
Strolling with Moses on Shavuot
There was a painting that hung in the living room of our house when I was a child. My father’s good friend Mike...
Babies, Parenting Other Holidays, Parenting Stories, Shavuot
Choosing a Religion for Baby Jack
Hello again. Anne and Sam here. You may remember us from the InterfaithFamily Wedding Blog. A few years have...
This Is What I’ll Miss Doing with My Daughter When I Go Back to Work
For the past two years, my daughter and I have been taking Mommy and Me classes at the local JCC. We took art,...
Motherhood, Parenting Challenges, Parenting Shabbat, Parenting Stories, Young Kids
Ugandans Nurture Jewish Identity at my Son’s Camp
Sammy with his Jewish camp counselors from Uganda
Last week my family hosted some of the international staff...
The Word They’ll Learn the Best
First words. What was my own first word? Probably “Mama,” though now my mother doesn’t remember. She does remember...
But You’re Not Really Jewish, Right?
“But you’re not really Jewish right?” This has been a question I have been asked since I was big enough to...
Babies, God, Identity, Parenting, Parenting Stories, Relationships, Religion
Congratulations! It’s a …
The conversation went something like this:
Amy: So we’re just going to be surprised when I give birth, right?...
The Bathroom Is My New Synagogue
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the bathroom lately. Let me explain: We’re potty training our twins. This...
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