Growing up, I was completely surrounded by Judaism. I attended our JCC preschool and day camp. I attended the Jewish Day School and Beth El religious school. I became a Bar Mitzvah and joined local Jewish youth groups. I attended the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington. I am th…
Rabbi David Wilensky of Congregation Sons of Israel was recently approached by someone looking for a sheep’s head for Rosh Hashanah. “Try Sheepshead Bay,” Wilensky remembers joking. But when asked about the importance of food-based symbols on Rosh Hashan…
The first question I get about my recent trip to Poland is: why did we go? This is a difficult question to answer. Growing up in the post-Holocaust era, the mention of Poland immediately brought to mind images of death and destruction. The suffering in the ghettos and the in…
When I embarked on a nine-day Greek Isles cruise, I knew I would see a lot of religious diversity. From the giant cathedrals looming over Rome to the Acropolis in Athens, I encountered a great number of religious sites honoring a variety of deities. The one re…
Traveling to Israel for 13 days with 30 young adults on a unique academic trip through Taglit Birthright Israel has deeply strengthened my connection with Israel and the worldwide Jewish community. This extended trip included lectures at the IDC Herzliya, a leading research …
