Rosh Hashanah – Write Yourself into the Book of Life — By Ben
The critical theme of the high holidays is the hope that we will be written and sealed by God in the Book of Life. But the truth is, most of […]
Category Archives: Holidays
Iyov – The Suffering and Silence of Job — By Ben
This Sunday we’ll observe the fast of Tammuz, kicking off the mourning period known as the 3 Weeks. The ritual culminates with Tisha B’Av which remembers the destruction of the […]
Shavuos, Ruth, and Being Chosen — By Ben
I don’t recall the exact circumstance, but somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory I remember talking to a devout person of a different religion. They had found out […]
The Free Will Choice of Passover — By Ben
Sitting on my desk are two pieces of electronic equipment. One is a Wacom Cintiq 21UX drawing tablet monitor. The other is a Nintendo Switch. Neither of them are particularly […]
Purim: Stroke of Bad Luck and Blindness — By Ben
My mother may have had a stroke, God forbid. On Monday, my parents were taking the dog for a walk and on the way home, my mother felt tired. Upon […]
Adar – What if You Had an Extra Month? — By Ben
If you count your months via January, February, and March opposed to Tishrei, Cheshvan, and Kislev, you’ve probably noticed that Jewish holidays bounce around a bit. Some years Chanukah is […]
Screenwriting, Salvation, and Splitting of the Sea — By Ben
It can be difficult to wrap our heads around the concept of salvation. Sure we’ve all had moments where we feel like we’ve dodged a bullet. We didn’t study enough […]
How Christmas Made Me Shomer Shabbos — By Ben
My journey from Reform to observance was a slow and leisurely one. It was nice being able to gradually pick up mitzvahs while rejecting the more difficult ones, saying, “I’m […]
Chanukah – Why is this Light Different from all other Light? – By Ben
It is easy to disregard Chanukah. It’s the most secularized holiday. It’s not in the Torah. And its iconic miracle is so overdone, it’s a bit of a joke. However, […]
Yom Kippur – Teshuvah Isn’t Just about You — By Ben
With the Day of Atonement upon us, many are scrambling to complete a spiritual accounting to get that cleanest of clean slates. But in the midst of all the Yom […]
