This weekend we will celebrate my 20th anniversary at KI, and our 20 years together sharing prayer, music, love, laughter, tears, friendship, holidays, life cycles and community together. It has been my great honor to share these years with you, and it is my great joy to be your Cantor...
Many of the healthy snacks I make at home tend to fall apart until I perfect the recipe. Healthy snacks, especially on a grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free diet, require a delicate balance. The importance of binding agents in baking often leaves me pondering how to perfect the science of creating...
There are so many Jewish smells that I love- the baking of challah being my favorite, especially before I became Gluten-Free. Scent is extremely important in our spiritual life because it changes our relationship with time and place. A scent can bring us back to memory. I remember my grandmother...
Next week, I will reach a huge milestone birthday!!!! When I came to KI, I was 30 years old. Next week I will be 50, and also this year we are celebrating our 20 years together. There is so much to celebrate and so many events and opportunities for you...
In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Vaera, we have doubts about ever being freed from the bondage of Egypt, and God reassures us by telling Moses: “Say to the Israelite people: I am Adonai, I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from...
I am wishing all of you a very Happy Hanukkah! As we light the first candle tonight, I pray that the lights bring brightness to your lives and remind you of the strength of our people in times of darkness. Lately, we’ve been walking the path of the Maccabees, a...
We all have enduring reminders of our ancestors whether in the form of stories, songs, ritual objects, art, or memories. I have 3 sisters, and we all have an heirloom or two, but mine is extraordinarily special. My grandmother gave me my great grandmother’s Shabbat candlesticks that were brought over...
With the pain and terror in Israel and in our hearts, it is difficult to find a soundtrack besides the horror in the media. Our hearts are aching, and this heaviness, emotionally, is challenging. Many of you are asking what can you do and how can you help? Here are...
As we start this New Year, we ask for the opportunity to begin with a “blank slate.” I found myself using this language of “starting again” with my two teenage daughters as well. The new start includes simple routine adjustments such as going to bed earlier, establishing a homework routine,...
This week we wish Liz Z. Sussman, all the very best as she enters into retirement and her next adventure. She has been the Early Childhood Education Director of the Richard E. Rudolph Jr. Preschool at KI for the last eight years. With all of her many gifts, Liz grew...
