Rituals in Jewish life series Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer “Rad ha-yom, shemesh dom, kokhavim notz’tzim bamarom (Day is done, gone the sun, stars are twinkling in the sky)” begins the summer camp lullaby for lights-out. As my husband sang it for the

Jewish Family Identity Forum Rituals in Jewish life series By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer As I awaited the birth of my first grandchild with joyous anticipation, I came across an intriguing question posed by Esther Jungreis in her book The Committed Life: “We plan all the details

Children of the Bible series By Candace R. Kwiatek Of all the biblical children, Joseph has the messiest, most stuffed scrapbook album. A scrap of ornamented tunic. A dreamer’s doodles. Mug shots and princely portraits. His life’s story, a novella told in great detail, is a series of reversals: favored

Children of the Bible Series Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Open our family’s Friday evening photo album and you would see dinner at the dining room table with a tablecloth and candles. Wine and blessings. Two challot. Birkat hamazon — the blessing after

Children of the Bible Series Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Pick up a children’s Bible storybook and you’re likely to see the characters depicted as youngsters — Isaac toddling up the mountain to the altar, Joseph taunting his brothers with a coat of

Children of the Bible Series Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer I recently read the acclaimed biography The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore. Like two photo albums set side by side, it alternately traces the lives of two African-American

Children of the Bible Series Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer “Hold it right there!” Adam says to Eve. “Say cheese…OK, got it.” “Well, Adam,” Eve says, looking at the snapshot, “the fields in the background look great, but it’s not the best shot

Jewish Family Identity Forum A series by Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer March 2010 “If there is no God, all is permitted,” argues Ivan Karamazov in Doestoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. After all, without God, who then has the authority to determine right and wrong? The state? Its laws

Jewish Family Identity Forum A series by Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer February 2010 It would appear that the Ten Commandments have become quite popular lately. After all, you can go into any bookstore and find “The Ten Commandments of…” marriage bliss, fund raising, trimming tax bills, positive