High Holidays on the Silk Roadby Bob Watts Image of Bukhara by Euyasik shared under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. My wife Linda and I arrived in Uzbekistan in August of 2001 to take up our posts at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent. With us were our children, Vega, 6, and Zach, just …
Asked and Answered The topic of this edition of Pride & Prejudice is how we can be more welcoming and inclusive during the High Holidays (and beyond). With that in mind, we asked and you answered: Question 1: What’s one thing you can do to ensure traditionally marginalized members in your Jewish community feel comfortable …
Our Baby is Growing Up!by Jerry Brodsky Letter from the Chair: “Promote acceptance, embrace our differences, and create a sense of belonging.” Pride & Prejudice was born two years ago during several conversations with members of our Inclusion Initiative when we wanted to find a way to discuss how all of us could be more …
My Remembrance of Yom Kippur as a Childby Aaron Altman I grew up in Union City, New Jersey, just a short bus ride from midtown Manhattan, but in many ways my childhood felt worlds apart from the glitter and noise of the city. My parents were Holocaust survivors, and in our home being Jewish was …
The Empty Seat by Steven Mandel MDVP Outreach and EngagementNew York Metro FJMC On Rosh Hashanah, as JH gathers his family, his wife and two sons, he looks at the empty chair that his third son Sam sat in before he left for what appears to be forever. He has a feeling of regret, longing, …
Art, Judaism, Disability and Pride are all connected by Steven Mandel MDClinical professor of NeurologyHofstra NorthwellAdjunct Professor of MedicineNY Medical College There is “outsider art” also known as “art brut“, a connection with art and disability: July Disability Pride Month Art. Through activist communities and Jewish texts, The Religious Action Center has promoted disability and …
Pride and FJMC – One Mans Story of Resilience. by Steven Mandel MDClinical professor of NeurologyHofstra NorthwellAdjunct Professor of MedicineNY Medical College Dave is a Shabbat buddy, a friendly presence, who I would often see and spend time with on Shabbat. We sat together in Shul and kiddish for many years. It was the summer, …
Jewish Pride by Rabbi Noam Raucher, MA.EdExecutive Director, FJMC International Jewish pride begins with a simple but powerful truth: to be a Jew is to belong to a people, a story, and a way of life larger than ourselves. Jewish pride is gratitude, memory, responsibility, and courage. To be proud to call ourselves Jews is …
Modern Jewish Family by ChoiceJoining the TribeBy Bob Watts I am a convert, not a Jew by Choice. I put in the work. I didn’t flip a switch to be Jewish. I went through a change in family relationships, in practice, in community, and in adjusting to a different belief system. Because of that my …
A Story of Aging, Care, and Dignity By Steven Mandel MDHeidi Mandel PhD, DPM,LMSW “Caregiving is not just a task—it is sacred labor. It teaches patience. It forces humility. It exposes fragility. And sometimes, it unlocks unexpected spiritual growth.” D.S. came to the US with his parents in the 1930s. He worked in men’s haberdashery, …
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