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As a recovering English major, it’s unusual that I admit to enjoying anything having to do with numbers… but I love counting the omer. As a child I knew nothing about the omer; it wasn’t until I was going to Makom Hebrew High School as a teenager that I learned about the obligation to count [...]

Yes, before we get to a round up of all the fabulous seder haggadot and supplements there are to behold, trust that there is a feasty delight about to happen.
The Leonard Lopate Show is hosting a recipe swap, this time on Matzo balls, and wants you, their faithful listeners and community members, to chime [...]

Parashat Terumah
The Gift of Safe Space
by Y. Gavriel A. Levi Ansara on Saturday February 24, 2007
6 Adar 5767
Exodus 25:1 - 27:19,Shabbat
Parashat Terumah opens with G-d speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai and commanding him in meticulous detail regarding the construction of the Mishkan, or “tabernacle,� the portable dwelling place of G-d’s presence that the Israelites [...]

Shalom, one mo time, from Israel!
Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour is an off the charts success! Check out the latest here. You can also peruse the video blog.
One of the truly grand things about Judaism is its insistence on gratitude. Observant Jews are required to thank YHWH 100 times a day. If this week’s parsha is any [...]

At 5, he learned his primary colours. Red, blue, yellow. Except that the red wasn’t truly red, but a pinkish red that he later learned was called magenta, and the blue wasn’t really blue, but an electrical turquoise hue called cyan.
At 13, he learned the colour of longing when his family [...]

It’s that time of year again, when I spend too much time waiting in line to buy things, wondering why so many Jewish musicians wrote Christmas music, and trying to explain to people who don’t believe me that Hanukkah is a minor holiday.
It’s not that I don’t like the whole “Holiday Season” idea. It’s [...]

Join BINA and Ayecha for a celebration of the beauty and culture of African, Middle Eastern, and North American Jews of Color through candle lighting, regional foods, multi-cultural Jewish music, and inspirational conversation!
Honored guest speakers will use ritual, spoken-word, poetry, music, and dance to highlight stories of diversity, hope, struggle, and triumph in honor [...]

Last year, I reported on the misperception that black people are not Jewish and dispelling that myth. I want to post this interview as a reflection, as many of the ideas still apply. A preparation for Hanukkah in the upcoming weeks. Enjoy!