Dear Families, Everyone has a favorite holiday, and it comes as no surprise to those who know me that my favorite is Simchat Torah. What biblioholic would not love a…

Dear Families, Being Jewish means enjoying great holidays and most of them have great “stuff.” At the J Early Childhood Center, we have been blowing the shofar with abandon but…

Dear Parents and Children, Yom Kippur is a difficult holiday especially to explain to young children. There are many things to think and talk about. The Jew’s responsibility during this…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families, Jacob takes his journey away from his home, falls asleep with a rock for a pillow and has a dream. He wakes up and says,…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families, Each morning, there are traditional blessings recited upon waking up. One of the prayers says: “Blessed are You, Adonai, our G-d, Ruler of the universe,…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families. Being in nature is the perfect opportunity to give thanks to G-d for the world. In the Amidah prayer, the text says: “We thank You,…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families, There is a wonderful story in Genesis about Jacob leaving his family. He takes off on his journey and at night, lies down on a…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families, This year, I asked our pre-K children, “What is a prayer?” They immediately started sharing different blessings. Even at age 4, they know the importance…

Dear Families, As we are getting ready for camp, we are making lists and learning the names of all our campers. It is interesting to note the “popular names” and…

By Laura Seymour Dear Families, A number of years ago I received an e-mail from my son who studied music at Rice University. A world-renowned teacher came to give master…