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In 2005-2006, I served part time as the rabbi of Congregation Sholom Aleichem with Cantor Isaac Kriger. We have wanted to share a bimah for the Fall Holy Days again ever since. If your congregation, traditional or liberal wants an inspiring Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur, please contact us here in Central Florida. Cantor Kriger lives in Orlando with his talented voice coach/accompanist/musical directress Elizabeth Brahms-Kriger; I live in Daytona Beach, and work part time in my retirement as the chaplain for Haven Hospice, DeLand, FL. They met in Israel, singing for the Israeli Opera Company, then sang in Europe before returning to the USA. I am reachable at 386-405-4432 or by email at cyberabbi_98@yahoo.com.

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Ever since I moved to Newton, Mass., I have found services to be just boring. Maybe it’s because now we go to a bigger, less personal synagogue, or when the rabbi talks, I often find myself dozing off. This year I was determined to make Rosh Hashanah meaningful for my family, especially my three year old little boy, Ariel.

I decided to make a birthday party for the world. By making Rosh Hashanah a birthday for the world, I felt my son would truly understand the meaning of the day or at least think it was really cool that we were all dressed up wearing birthday hats and eating sweet food.

For each of the two days of Rosh Hashanah we invited Ariel’s friends and their parents over to our house. We had a mix of families with guests who originated from New York, Canada, China, Ukraine, and Australia. We started each meal with apples and honey and a new fruit. It is a tradition on this holiday to try an unusual fruit for the first time in the season and recite the Shehecheyanu, a prayer of thanks that is said on many occasions including when something new happens,”.

We then moved on to the typical fare of homemade gefilte fish, brisket, noodle kugel, and carrots but we were all wearing birthday hats. Each meal was finished with birthday cookies; We keep kosher and don’t mix diary and meat, and I had a hard time finding a pareve birthday cake (one that is not dairy) and am not the type to bake it myself!

We also talked about how G-d created the world with all of the animals and plants on Rosh Hashanah. Then we talked about how nice it would be if we did good deeds or mitzvahs all year because G-d was nice enough to create the world for us. (I figured that as Ariel and his little friends are only three, we could include a discussion on evolution a few years down the road.)

It was the best Rosh Hashanah we’d had in a long while and I hope it will continue for many more years.

Dear Editor:
There were exceptionally pleasing feelings of pride aroused in me by Ed Case for his excellent piece on the Marc Mezvinsky/Chelsea Clinton wedding and for saying mazal tov on my behalf and for others who feel the same; and by the Forward for courageously publishing his sound wisdom and above all by the groom, Marc who saw to it that all the signifiers including Kippah, Talit, Chupa, Kiddish were featured prominently at the wedding. Marc’s parents are to be commended for the successful upbringing of Marc as a committed Jewish young man. The rabbi’s officiation was very important and also most laudable.
About the wedding, we tend to complicate things more than that they need to be: for one thing, there is no such thing as co-officiation. From a Jewish perspective, whoever presides over the exchange of rings – the symbolic act of conveying a “consideration” in the presence of two witnesses the acceptance of which validates the contract/ketubah – is the officiant and need not be clergy. It is irrelevant from this perspective that a rabbi out of a sign of respect should decide to invite others, of whatever stripe they are, to participate. Any assortment of laymen, Catholic priests, Protestant ministers or imams standing alongside the officiant constitutes a loving and generous gesture on the part of the family and the Jewish officiant. When a rabbi officiates at an inter-marriage (meaning he/she presides over the exchange of rings) it would be well advised to be welcoming in this manner. Clergy mix in many venues such as at a Thanksgiving community service. No wedding guest need be confused as to what is transpiring before their eyes. “Causing confusion,” often cited, is a very lame excuse for not inviting another worthy and beloved person to participate. Two witnesses of maturity and repute must be present to affix their signatures to the ketubah agreement. Anyone who doesn’t ordinarily write on the Sabbath (who would be sleeping over at the hotel, perhaps) can affix his (and not hers if Orthodox) signature after dark.
As for scheduling a Sabbath day-time wedding, one almost never hears the favorable reasons for the support of an earlier time, only the anti. But the permissive side would recognize how the wedding enhances and does not detract the sanctity of the Sabbath day. And since the guests do not joyously celebrate Shabbat according to Halacha, there is little concern for mixing or diminishing two joyous events –the Sabbath and a chatunah. The guests, family and couple will, in the company of the minion, hear Hebrew words of prayer and consecration they would not otherwise experience on the Sabbath. The wedding and the Sabbath are both sanctified. There are practical reasons for preponing the ceremony time before sunset besides the mitzvah of accommodating the wedding couple and their loved ones many of whom are elderly. For them an earlier time constitutes a mitzvah l’chabed zkeinim.
Kedushin does not lose its kedusha when entered into its sanctity on Shabbat Kodesh. Unless of course the wedding is a business arrangement as it still is for Orthodoxy as reflected in an Orthodox ketubah referencing monetary considerations which certainly do not belong on the Sabbath. Therefore, an Orthodox Jewish wedding ought not to be conducted on the Sabbath. A non-Orthodox wedding fits the Sabbath perfectly.
The mitzvah of officiation should take into account that the marriage not the wedding ceremony is paramount. And the wedding, (signifying: “crossroads reached” and a new life begun) almost invariably serves the function of affirming the direction or projected “pathway” the couple will take concerning the religious identity of their home and children.
If a couple decides to take the non-Christian, uncommon and exceptional pathway to the mansion of Jewish identity then the exchange of rings with the formula, “according to the traditions of Moses and the heritage of Israel” – k’dat moshe v’yisrael - would be in order. And the non-Jewish partner reciting this formula affirms his or her status as a ger or giyoret toshav a Settled Sojourner. If Chelsea will be raising Jewish kids, she’s a Settled Sojourner. If so, it will make me smile. We are a welcoming folk, not a turning our back folk. Besides, in our time, identity is transmitted in ascending lineality – by child to parent – not by descent.
We are strengthened as a people by offering various portals of entry (and exit too) of the mansion of Jewish identity. We should keep that entrance unblocked for our own good and steer the right people to the right portal. I go more deeply and theologically into these critical issues in my book (without cost), Jewish, Christian, Chewish or Eschewish: Intermarriage Pathways for the New Millennium. Above all I pray Marc and Chelsea will be happy, will be good parents as are their own accomplished parents, will prove to be well-suited for each other and that they be welcomed by the Jewish community should that be their choice in establishing their home.
Rabbi Dr. Reeve Robert Brenner

Last Saturday, I co-officiated at a beautiful wedding ceremony at Curtis Farm in Wilton, New Hampshire. The bride is Catholic and the groom is Jewish, and I co-officiated with a wonderful and welcoming Priest from Bedford, NH. The wedding was in an open field with a view of the mountains and fortunately, the weather was warm and sunny, even though rain was in the forecast. I believe that both families were very happy with the ceremony, and a great time was had by all.

This journal entry bloomed from a comment on Ruth Abrams's post Meaningful Spiritual Practices and New Translation of Psalms. I said:

[...]I feel spiritual when I pray, when I study Torah, and when I make connections with Jews and those converting to Judaism. Talking about religion and what speaks to me as a Jew-to-be makes me feel spiritual. I feel spiritual when the sun is shining bright and the birds are singing, or when I hear the thunder and see the lightning. I feel spiritual when I make food choices that are kosher. I feel spiritual when I contribute to charities, or help someone who is having a hard time. I feel spiritual when I stretch my muscles and breathe deeply.

I find spirituality to be an awareness of G-d, and I try to stay aware whenever I can.

I've found great spiritual purpose in Judaism. I was raised in a Christian environment, and though I sometimes felt a connection with G-d, it did not happen very often until I started exploring Judaism.

Suddenly, studying and asking questions became part of how I related to G-d! Although I read religious books before I found Judaism, it was more of an interesting sideline than anything else. Now, it is a spiritual practice. It makes me feel closer to the Divine to study history and customs, and the traditions I pick up along the way bring me closer to other Jews.

This post is part of my spiritual practice, too. Just by writing it, I am dealing with a part of myself that is spiritual, cracking it open and pouring it out. I am communicating with others who are interested in religion and how it effects family and individual life. That, in itself, is spiritual to me.

You do not have to go to any great lengths to feel spiritual. This post is not costing much, just a little bit of my time. And yet the act of writing brings me great joy and a feeling of closeness with other people. That is spiritual: not just a connection to G-d, but with my fellow human beings.