What a Mezuzah Can Hold, Before and After October 7 For over 30 years, I’ve made the case for the mezuzah– a Jewish ritual object meant to be affixed to the entrances and doorways of your home. Placing a mezuzah on a doorpost isn’t to merely “check off” fulfilling a commandment, nor is it meant to sit covered in…
Yesterday was Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today marks my grandmother’s 15th yahrzeit. (The anniversary of her death.) I’m sharing a piece written by my cousin, Adi Gozdzinski. It tells the story of my great-aunt and her family, along with my maternal grandparents’ experiences during the Holocaust and the lives they built afterward. I’ve made a few edits to highlight my…
I am thrilled to share a special project recently completed for Congregation B’nai Israel in Rockville, MD, in honor of their 100th Anniversary. To celebrate this centennial milestone, the congregation commissioned a custom mezuzah to be presented as a gift to donors of a certain level. Working closely with committee members Gail and Randi, we developed a design that features…
As we all well know, peace is the only way forward. Violence and war only provide temporary quiet– but not what we universal human beings really want. I’d like to share with you a life-changing story from my youth. When was 15 years old in 1989 I visited Israel on an Ulpan Trip for two months with about 150 kids…
WHAT IS PEACEFUL, AND WHAT ISN’T? The “peaceful protesters” — students, teachers and administrators, at American Universities and High Schools are attacking, intimidating, mocking, harassing, and endangering Jewish students lives– just for being Jewish. Protesting the actions of Netanyahu’s racist government including the disregard for Palestinian civilian life and the illegal settlements, is not Antisemitic– it is warranted. Denying Israel’s…
Dear Mayor Breed, I am a local metal artist, and a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. I have been making Judaica, from a universal perspective— in San Francisco for over 25 years. I have always been an interfaith advocate, and I have always been a proponent of peace. I can’t think of anyone who would want to support the killing…
This morning as I sat down to read The Sunday San Francisco Chronicle, I fully expected to see a news story about the surprise attack on Israel and the continuing fall-out. I was shocked to see that there was NO COVERAGE in print whatsoever. I wrote a letter to the editor about it. I publish it here, because I have…