OK, we’re using “halachot” (Jewish laws) in jest, but think of these Sports Fan “halachot” as a meaningful parable for Jewish involvement:

1) Knowledge

Good fans know their teams. They are aware of their playing schedules, know their rosters, have … Read the rest

Be Like Onion!

This is a Chassidic story and expression from our daughter’s Sara’s Bas-Mitzvah art project & booklet:

The Mitteler Rebbe encouraged his Chassidim to make a special effort to stop in villages and towns along their journeys to … Read the rest

“…These Days a Chassid is a Baal Teshuvah…”

by Rabbi Shlomo Galperin

This memory of my uncle goes back to my school days in Tashkent, Russia in the 1960’s. It’s about a conversation we had before dinner one school night … Read the rest

The third night of Chanukah (2018) BeLev Echad IDF wounded veterans soldiers talk at our Modern-Day Maccabee event was more meaningful & personal than I expected. 

A key issue they shared was how their mental & emotional rehabilitation was harder … Read the rest

One of the big cultural differences between the Greeks and the Jews in the background of the Chanukah story was how to view physical beauty. The Greeks were very much into it, it was a noble thing for them, they … Read the rest

Chanukah candles have that classic look: colored, twisted. The old traditional blue boxes used to have a prominent number 44 on the box, because that’s the exact number of candles needed for one Menorah throughout Chanukah. More on that later, … Read the rest

This image of these four Hebrew words (which begin the Kaddish, the mourners prayer) spread across the whole front page top of the Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh’s largest newspaper, is chilling and comforting, saddening and uplifting at the same time.  

Tonight at … Read the rest

We picked up this “I want my hat back” book at the library the other day. It’s by Jan Klassen who wrote and illustrated several picture books about animals and a hat. This book (surprisingly!) won major book awards and … Read the rest

Every few years we do a Pink Shabbat in conjunction with the Sharsheret organization for Jewish breast cancer awareness and support. In fact, we did Pink Shabbat once or twice before Sharsheret. It is important that students (even as they … Read the rest

This Shabbat (Noach 5779) is the second yartzeit of my grandmother Bubbe Risha Piekarski. I (and some of my siblings) lived in her and my grandfather Zeide Michel’s home (1672 President Street, near Utica Ave) for nearly ten years while … Read the rest