November 25, 2016 – Sarasota, FL The holiday of Thanksgiving is so confusing to me because the story we learn in school represents a kind of peace type treaty between Pilgrims and Indians. If you dive into the authentic history of Thanksgiving, you will be quite disappointed by the story as it becomes a bloody […]
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Shabbat Playlist #20 – Guys & Dolls
November 18, 2016 – Sarasota, FL “Remember[ing] the Sabbath day,” the fourth commandment if you are Jewish as there are 613 to try to accomplish over a lifetime – a very lofty endeavor, can have many interpretations. As Temple Emanu-El members on this Sabbath eve, it can mean celebrating Shabbat Alive – “an exhilarating musical […]
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Shabbat Playlist #19 – Unsettled
November 11, 2016 – Sarasota, FL Like every year, Veteran’s Day falls on November 11, but this year was very different as the 2016 presidential election had just concluded on the eve of November 8, the remembrance of Kristallnacht, i.e., the official commencement of the Holocaust, in Germany in 1938. Steve and I, like many […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #18 – From the End to the Beginning and Back Again
November 4, 2016 A favorite service to attend at Temple Emanuel is Simchat Torah – the time we finish reading the last story in Deuteronomy and commence the first story in Genesis. Whether one believes in G-d or not, the celebration is joyous. We document it by rolling out the Torah from end to end […]
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Shabbat Playlist #17 – Tropical Nights
October 28, 2016 An October Shabbat on the lanai with the full moon shining through the bamboo adds a natural element to the recognition of the beginning of the 24 cycle of pause – known as Shabbat. The table was set with all the traditional props: the festive candles and candlesticks, the hand-blown pink glass […]
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Shabbat Playlist #16 – It Always Works Out
October 21, 2016 Remembering my dad’s birthday on October 19th, anticipating our son, Jake, graduating from EMT school by Friday, October 20th, celebrating his 20th birthday on the 22nd and welcoming our daughter, Erin, home for the opening of the musical Guys and Dolls at the Asolo Rep Theater meant I had to inject some major original […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #15 – Jewish Geography
October 14, 2016 – Sarasota, FL You can pray with someone side by side for 15 years and miss little details about them that actually connect you. Our friends, Lori and Bruce Dorman, were informally introducing themselves to Temple Emanu-El’s new rabbi, Michael Schiffrin, several Shabbats ago.Their common bond was that the Rabbi Schiffrin is […]
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Shabbat Playlist #14 – He Remembered
October 7, 2016 – Sarasota, FL What makes this Shabbat special is that my son asked me, “Mom, what time is Shabbat dinner?” Steve and I had nothing planned, but I didn’t let on; instead I called in the emergency backup plan!…The Schneider’s! I called Jake back and told him “6:30.” He was there and […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #13 – “Expect Delays”
September 30 ,2016 My Grandmother Jean always insisted that I look up because there would undoubtedly be a clue or gift to see and while I listened, I never quite understood the metaphor. The obvious denotation was for me to walk proudly with my head up and not shuffle my feet. But as motherhood and […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #12 – Finances
September 23, 2016 – Sarasota, FL This Shabbat ritual began for two reasons: the Schneiders included us in their Shabbat dinners on a regular basis and my mom needed to connect with something pleasant at least once a week as her Parkinson’s and Lewy Body diseases continue to ramp up, and it was joyful for […]
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