Southern & Jewish
Driving Ourselves Crazy (And Back Again) On Southern Jewish Road Trips
As ISJL Education Fellows, we spend a lot of time in the car, driving to our communities. More to the ...
Jews Celebrating Halloween in Small Town 1930s Texas: A Southern Jewish History Treat
Halloween has always been a part of my life. Maybe it’s because I’m a theater person, so the costume element ...
What If Martians Were Religious?
I heard an interesting discussion on the radio the other day, about water being found on the surface of Mars. ...
Jewish History in Ruleville, Mississippi (Bonus: Early Example of Photobomb!)
Ruleville is a small town in the Mississippi Delta. Most famously known as the birthplace of legendary organizer of the ...
We Don’t Count People… Because All People Count
Every few months, I receive a tentative “cold call” from a congregation interested in using the services of the ISJL ...
Learning To Cook in My Southern Jewish Kitchen
There are many stereotypes about Jewish mothers. Some of them are positive, some less so. But we all know them ...
Wanted: A Master & A Mensch
As part of my job as the Director of Education at the ISJL, I, along with my staff members, serve ...
Friday Night Lights Vs… Friday Night Lights
“Where’s your family?” A friendly “old timer” asked me at Friday night services a couple of weeks ago. When you’re ...
How “Hamilton” Will Help Me Teach About Jewish History
Hamilton, a new musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has captivated my nerdy history-and-Broadway-musical-loving-heart in a big way. That’s not surprising — ...
From Mourning to Memory: Chasing Balloons, Wearing a Ring
For those of you who wear rings, this probably sounds familiar: you fiddle with your ring, a thousand times a ...
What Makes This Lulav So Southern?
In elementary school, the Jewish holidays were never an issue — I went to a Jewish day school, so school ...
Throwback Thursday: Texas for the Holidays
After the end of my two-year term as an ISJL Education Fellow, I moved back to Massachusetts to begin rabbinical ...