Hanukkah provides opportunities to reach out to others

I realize we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, and here I am already thinking about Hanukkah! With our Festival of Lights Run and Hanukkah Happening just a few weeks away, I’ve been reflecting on a beautiful Jewish teaching about the light we share and our responsibility to extend it beyond ourselves.(Betzy Lynch)

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Teammates, not soulmates: Peace in the home is not the same as closeness

Many Jewish couples have a line from the Song of Songs engraved inside their wedding rings: “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li.” I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. It is worth noticing who that verse describes. It is not two people splitting the carpool. It is two people who delight in each other. (Dr. Jené Verchick)

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Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Novel on Ethiopian Jews commendably avoids sentimentality

The novel shines brightest in its refusal to slip into melodrama. Historical fiction that addresses mass suffering often succumbs to cheap sentimentalism or exploitative misery. Frieze avoids both traps through rigorous narrative discipline. (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel)

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Jewish Fiction, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

In the mix: Zionism, music, and healing-A conversation with Joshua Washington

The Village Talks at The Jewish National Fund’s Global Conference 2026 in Chula Vista is featuring dozens of short talks, TED-style. One of them that I listened to was by the younger Washington and it managed to harmonize Zionism with music and healing. You see, for Washington, music is more than just performance—it is a lifeline and the most powerful tool he has to reach people. (Barrett Holman Leak)

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Barrett Holman Leak, International, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Challah is not the only bread acceptable at the Shabbat table

According to Rabbi Ethan Tucker of Yeshivat Hadar, cornbread can qualify if at least one-eighth of its ingredients come from one of the five traditional grains: wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye. (Cailin Acosta)

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Cailin Acosta, International, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Parsha Toledot: The Torah’s subtle advice for parenting

When Isaac looked at Jacob—a mild-mannered scholar who stayed indoors meditating on the wonders of God—he saw a carbon copy of himself. Isaac worried that a quiet thinker lacked the bold, swashbuckling energy needed to carry Abraham’s movement into the wider world. Esau, Isaac figured, had the charisma; with a little spiritual coaching, the hunter could become a crusader. (Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel)

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Loay Alshareef’s blueprint for Middle East peace

Week after week around that Yemenite Jewish family’s Shabbat table, everything he had been taught began to collapse. In the glow of Shabbat candles, over shared blessings, braided challah, and unhurried conversation, he discovered that the “enemies” he had been taught to fear were human beings offering sincere hospitality. (Barrett Holman Leak)

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Barrett Holman Leak, International, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Classic Hanukkah song imaginatively illustrated verse by verse

The first thing a reader notices is how much the author’s concept of Hanukkah resembles Christmas.  It’s as if hanukkiahs, dreidels, and Jewish stars hare replaced Santa Clauses, creches, and peppermint sticks as symbols of the winter holidays. (Donald H. Harrison)

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animals, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Parsha Toldot: The lifelong work of becoming a better person

Toldot offers us something more than psychological insight. It provides a moral and spiritual framework for understanding our obligation to grow. In the language of Mussar, the Jewish discipline of character refinement, we are not simply here to accept who we are. We are here to work on who we can become. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.}

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Mantell, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish birthday: Al Michaels

Al Michaels (November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night Football. Having worked on network sports television since 1971, Michaels is best known for his many years calling play-by-play of National Football League (NFL) games, including ABC Monday Night Football from 1986 to 2005, NBC Sunday Night Football from 2006 to 2021, and eleven Super Bowls. [Wikipedia]

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia