Dear Families, There is a very important Jewish value: kehillah — community! This important concept starts with the name of the Jewish people: “am Yisrael — the people of Israel.”…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families, Purim has just ended and it is time to get ready for Passover. Hearing those words gets some people excited and some people frantic! There…

Dear Families, Each year we have a contest at the J: Who is the real Purim hero? Each of us look for heroes, and the story of Esther is filled…

Dear Families, Today there is much talk about health, both physical and mental. We are at the end of February; how many people are still keeping their New Year’s resolution…

I’m not sure if you, like me, receive lots of Torah commentaries on the parasha of the week leading up to Shabbat. Great reading, but now I want to comment…

By Laura Seymour The ice storm made Dallas come to a stop — that is often a good thing! For those who had to find a way to work, I…

Dear Families, It is winter and it has been so cold — yet here comes Tu B’Shevat, the Birthday of the Trees, a feeling of spring coming. This holiday falls…

Dear Families, We don’t always realize how the Torah addresses issues about our present-day lives. But reading a commentary today from Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig, I learned “and you shall guard…

By Laura Seymour Dear Friends, Yes, another book but this time a children’s book from PJ Library that retells a Talmudic story in a unique way. This story is often…

Dear Friends, I have a new book to recommend but first a story (that I may have told before). Many, many years ago when I was in college there was…