Monthly Archives: November 2008
Walking a Tightrope
by Rachel BenDavid (Peduel, Israel) Those of us new to observant Judaism constantly balance following the laws as we learn them with being sensitive to the feelings of others–especially parents. In some ways it’s like walking a tightrope, always trying … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry, Passover
Finding A Place for Myself
by Charlotte Herman (Lincolnwood, IL) Our apartment on Chicago’s West Side (also known as the “Great Vest Side”) in the 1940′s was where the relatives congregated. The men sat in the front room smoking cigarettes, and the women drank tea … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry, Jewish identity
A Succah in Maine
by Roberta Chester (Bar Harbor, ME) At the appointed time for Tashlich last year, I gingerly picked my way over the rocks along the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean in front of my home in Bar Harbor, Maine. It’s a … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry
The Sacred, Secret World of Women
by Jan Booker (Malibu, CA) From early childhood, I was my grandmother’s frequent companion at the neighborhood public bath house whose clients were the Jewish immigrant women who had settled with their families in South Philadelphia. The place was known … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry
Blind Luck
by Beth Finke (Chicago, Illinois) Every Wednesday, my Seeing-Eye dog, Hanni, leads me to the Chicago Cultural Center to teach a memoir-writing class for senior citizens. Eighteen women with great names–Myrna, Sybil, Eldoris, Bea–who grew up on the South Side, … Continue reading
Filed under history
