Category Archives: Jewish muse

Visiting Mosques Teaches Countless Lessons

By | | Jewish muse
7 Comments

Fb-Button

August 29, 2011

Mihrab. Wudu. Minaret.

Those words have been foreign to me most of my life. I have been like most Americans, woefully ignorant about other religions besides my own. For that matter, until the last decade, I knew little even about my Jewish faith.

Recently, I shadowed a Wellesley Middle School sixth-grade class as the students learned about world religions. The purpose was research for my article about how one Boston-area school teaches about religion … Continue reading →

Dressing Torah Brings Me Closer to Faith on Shavuot

By | | Jewish muse
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

June 8, 2011

“Slowly. You don’t have to rush it,” the rabbi said. I was trying to quickly tie a bow on the belt wrapped around the Torah.

My rabbi, Howard Jaffe of Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Mass., held his finger in the center of the string to assist. Bow-tying is a weakness of mine. I tie shoelaces by forming two bunny ear loops. I tied the strings and reminded myself to breathe. I was not on stage. I was in the chapel of my temple during the morning Shavuot … Continue reading →

Death, Nature, Revelations: Writing Retreat Leaves Eclectic Trail of Memories

By | | Jewish muse
6 Comments

Fb-Button

June 6, 2011
Death. We talked about death. We read about death. We wrote about death. We cried about death.

Illness, addiction, disability. We learned to poke fun at our own weaknesses. We learned to treat others’ illnesses, addictions, and disabilities with respect and love. We laughed. Again, we wiped tears from our eyes.

Will Weekend Writing Retreat Inspire, Create New Paths?

By | | Jewish muse
Leave a comment

Anticipation. Curiosity. Hope. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll climb into my aging Honda CRV and drive about three hours west to a conference center in rural western Massachusetts. I’ll join an unknown number of strangers for a long weekend devoted to learning about, talking about, and doing writing. On a whim, well a researched whim, I decided to attend a retreat run by The Sun magazine. I fell for the description of the magazine’s retreat: “You don’t have to be a writer to attend. Our aim is to simply to create a space in which people can tell their stories from the heart.” Continue reading →

Rachel Simon Artfully Weaves Religious Themes into Novel

By | | Jewish muse
3 Comments

Fb-Button

May 31, 2011

Religion in a novel can be a turn-off or a gift to the reader depending on the writer’s approach. Author Rachel Simon, in her latest book, practically delivers a primer on how to artfully and provocatively incorporate religion into fiction.

Religion is a natural presence in The Story of Beautiful Girl, a novel about an intellectually disabled woman and her boyfriend, who is deaf. They meet in a state institution. Simon, the author of six books, shows faith’s presence – the good as well as the … Continue reading →

Finding His Voice: Toddler Fills House with Jewish Song

By | | Jewish muse
1 Comment

Fb-Button

May 23, 2011

It always sounds a little bit like Passover at our house. Nearly every day, our 3-year-old son sings Dayenu. He warbles it in the bathtub. He belts it out as he strums his ukulele and marches around the living room and kitchen. Sometimes he hums it before he goes to sleep.

You’re thinking that I should say, Dayenu (enough)? No way. Simon is equally enthusiastic about singing David Melech. Jewish music has become a part of the fabric of our family. Simon likely does not understand the meaning … Continue reading →