The Jewish High Holidays and Sukkot have come and gone and this year, unlike any other, posed new and significant challenges for all of us in different ways because of COVID-19. Yet it also offered new opportunities. So, on the spiritual report card of life, how did we do? In years past, we took for…
September 18, 2020, heralds the first night of Rosh Hashanah and the advent of the Jewish year 5781. But accompanying the traditional apples and honey this year is an unprecedented question: Why is this Rosh Hashanah different from all other Rosh Hashanahs? In years past, we took for granted that we could celebrate the holiday…
“Knock knock!” “Who’s there?” “Me.” “Me who?” A silly childhood joke, right? Perhaps, but it could also be viewed as one of the most compelling questions of all time. Because, if asked differently, the question “Me who?” is actually: “Who am I?” Since the beginning of time, we have been attempting to understand and articulate…
My dad is a stand-up kind of guy. Well, actually, at 98, he is more of a sit-down, “I’m-tired” kind of guy, but his attitude reflects that of someone much younger. He has weathered business ups and downs, macular degeneration, colon cancer, a daughter who hitchhiked cross country after college hoping to “find herself” and…
Passover is the time of year when Jews retell the core narrative of the Jewish people, which goes like this: We were slaves in Egypt for over 400 years, then God brought us out of Egypt “with a strong hand and an outstretched arm” to become a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The…
I entered the classroom of 32 seventh graders at the worst time imaginable – seventh period on a Friday afternoon, the weekend before winter break. I knew the deck was stacked against me. I had been warned by the very enthusiastic teacher who asked me to read my short story as part of her unit…
The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation invites Legacy Supporters to the Third Annual Legacy Celebration to honor and celebrate legacy giving in the community. Amy Hirshberg Lederman, whose To Life columns appear periodically in Oregon Jewish Life, will be the featured speaker. Her topic for the day, “My Grandmother’s Candlesticks: Leaving a Legacy of Love and…
My cell phone rings and Mom’s name flashes on the screen. “I’m ashamed of myself,” she whispers into the phone. “Oh, hi Mom. About what?” I ask. My mother typically begins our phone conversations as if we have been talking for a while. “I played bridge today and was stuck with a real dud for…
My husband, Ray, was diagnosed with diabetes in 1962, when he was 12 years old. Back in those days, it was a big ordeal to manage juvenile diabetes. There were no glucometers, insulin pumps or disposable syringes to ease the way or help parents keep their children’s blood sugar under control. And when, in 1985,…
I have become aware of many things since my husband Ray died. At first, it had to do with the content of my dreams – visual images and messages that brought me closer to feeling his presence in my non-waking hours. As time went on, that closeness has come through beautiful images I see in…
