Category Archives: Uncategorized

ReJewvenate @ Pardes, Summer 2015

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

ReJewvenate @ Pardes, Summer 2015 Two letters from our “ReJewvenators” who participated at Pardes Summer Institute this past summer through the ReJewvenate grant.Apply for next year, if you’re over 40, interested in immersive Jewish learning and haven’t had an opportunity … Continue reading →

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First Love

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

The Torah reading for this week is packed with famous stories. Abraham and Sarah and their generous hospitality; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; the birth if Isaac, the expulsion of Yishma’el; the binding of Isaac. And somewhere near the … Continue reading →

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The Art of Kvetching

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Kvetching is an art. How to combine the right amounts of nagging, whining, flattery, with a good cause that needs attention? As we’ll see, the recent film “Inside Out” provides us with a great illustration: It’s the difference between Sadness … Continue reading →

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The Dilemma of the Oaklandish – Israeli Expat and more

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

The Dilemma of the Oaklandish-Israeli Expat Due to family circumstance, I ended up this past Tuesday evening, in one of Oakland’s “taverns”. The place, reeking of deep fried oils, meat and beer, was packed with “loud and proud” Golden State … Continue reading →

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Shabbat before Shavu’ot – זמן מתן תורה

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

It’s a few minutes to Shabbat which will run into a holiday. The cashier at the grocery store wonders if we’re getting extra challah for Memorial Day weekend. We tell her, it happens to also be – Chag Shavuot. Shavuot … Continue reading →

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FOMO & Pesach Sheni

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Turns out, people suffered from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) already in Torah time. Numbers 9:6-14 gives us the details: “those people” came and asked Moses: What if, through no fault of our own, we didn’t get to bring the … Continue reading →

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skin, clothing, house-walls, what?

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

What is the meaning of a sickness that affects a house? Tzara’at, the strange condition which we often erroneously translate as leprosy, affects human skin, clothing and dwellings, but only of the houses in the Land of Israel. The midrash … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Pesach Cleaning and Tzav; Shabbat Hagadol and even The Elections

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Pesach is here, and with it, the cleaning panic. Everywhere I look there is “stuff”, and in every bit of the stuff, there could be chametz!! The prospect is daunting. It seems like we should spend every wakeful second with … Continue reading →

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Start Learning Here?

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

Imagine: you are about the start teaching Torah in kindergarten, and you have to pick where to start them. Which story would it be? Abraham’s journey, Rachel at the well, Joseph’s coat, Miriam watching Moses gloating in the basket, perhaps … Continue reading →

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Getting Together

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

What is the goal of a journey? To see places, to acquire new experiences? If we look at the Book of Exodus in its totality, maybe it’s all about connecting. We started with shmot, “names”, a list of separated individuals, … Continue reading →

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