From `Sin’ [China] to Sinai

Posted on: May 18th, 2012

This is not my story at all. But when I heard it from Avigayil Madmoni, formerly Gin Lin Lug, a Chinese convert, I gained a new view of what Torah means to me. I know for sure, as anyone who has ever met this very charming, sincere, lovable young woman will agree with me, that Avigayil is my sister like any other Jew and that she surely stood at Har Sinai -- together with my ancestors and the souls of their descendants, namely me and all the Jews alive today, and who have ever lived, since the giving of the Torah.

The Five Commandments

Posted on: May 11th, 2012

Whenever I got praised for an achievement, I feel like I should say that half the praise goes to my parents. Although they can get on my nerves, I am really blessed with a mother and father who have molded and shaped me (by any means necessary) to become a successful human being.

True Friends, Traveling 700 Miles

Posted on: May 4th, 2012

From the gmail statuses and e-mail forwards I get, it seems like everyone has some idea of what true friendship is all about.

Victim Or Survivor?

Posted on: April 26th, 2012

Everyone, at least one time in his or her life, gets knocked down, and most of us have trouble getting back up. Let’s face it – we all get depressed at times. Sometimes we get stuck in a funk and we don’t know how to get out of it, especially if we’re constantly being knocked down. Eventually, we don’t even want to get up anymore. Why should we get back up, just to get knocked down again?

God is Always There

Posted on: April 16th, 2012

God is always there, waiting for you to stretch out your little pinky so that He can tug on it and engulf you in a never-ending warm hug.

The Taste Of Water

Posted on: April 16th, 2012

“May I please have the water?” my older sister asked from across the table. I passed the heavy container of Poland Spring water across the table to her.

To Be Jewish

Posted on: April 6th, 2012

Growing up, I remember my father’s Rosh Hashana ritual. He read the story of Rabi Amnon of Mainz, who had his tongue, hands and legs cut off for refusing to convert to Christianity – for choosing to remain a Jews. I would run away from the table sobbing in terror. Even at the tender age of six, I knew that being Jewish made oneself a member of an endangered species.

‘Living in De Nile’

Posted on: March 30th, 2012

I love Pesach. Really, I do. Even with the stress and preparation associated with March Madness (I still have no idea why my father thinks it has anything to do with basketball), I enjoy it. Maybe it's because of my mother's spinach kugel, or the way I still love actively searching for the afikoman.

The Magic Of Camp Mishkon

Posted on: March 30th, 2012

When is a concert not just a concert? When it’s a Mishkon concert, of course! Unlike any regular concert, when a band comes to Mishkon the campers are the stars. At a regular concert, everyone sits in the dark on cushioned seats. Not in Mishkon!

The Power of Human Interaction

Posted on: March 23rd, 2012

Four stories, four sets of relationships, four life lessons. In one short week from January 15-22, 2012, my world was altered forever by the stories, relationships and life lessons experienced on the Center for Jewish Future mission to help build an irrigating tilapia farm for the small Mexican village of Muchucuxcah.