When thinking about going to your family’s Thanksgiving dinner, does the fear of seeing certain relatives put a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach? You know the ones: the close talker, the nonstop talker, the massager, the bully, Debbie Downer and Mrs. Right About Everything! This is just a sampling from my family, anyway. (I hope they don’t read this!) There are others, of course, but what is key is learning how to deal...

We were driving down the road in my black minivan. My son, Asher, was quietly sitting, staring out the window. Through my rearview mirror, I saw him shut his eyes and say it! It was said in the most innocent way that only a child could say it, but they were simply not the words I wanted to hear. He said, “Dear God: Can I please have a Christmas tree?” Oh, an arrow through my heart. He might as well have folded his cute little hands...

When I decided to convert to Judaism, I knew that the transition would be difficult for my family. But I had no idea that the real war would begin over holiday gifts. The wrapping paper war began in the early morning hours. I had just gotten out of the shower and poured my second cup of coffee when my phone rang. Before I even picked up the receiver, I knew it was my mom, probably on her second cup of coffee too. She most likely had already...

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are all about choice — opting to leave negativity behind and pressing toward a positive future. What are you choosing today? During her sermon, my rabbi said, “We don’t choose when we come into this world or when we go out, but during the in-between we choose.” We choose to live or to die each year. What I mean is we choose to live an alive life or a dead life — a life...