It’s Friday night around 6:30. My husband, Frank and I enter Temple Sinai’s front lobby in anticipation of Shabbat services. We flip through the box of name tags and locate ours. Smiling faces greet us. We exchange “Shabbat Shaloms”—even the staff member who opens the doors welcomes us into the building with the same warm […]
The story of how one New Yorker found friendship, support and a spiritual community in the outer reaches of Washington, DC Five years ago, when I decided to leave New York, everyone—friends, colleagues, clients; cousins and classmates; students, neighbors and doormen—thought I was nuts. They laughed at the idea that there might be intelligent life […]
I grew up in the 1970s, the daughter of a progressive Rabbi who delighted in observing, reclaiming and creating Jewish traditions. Ordained Conservative at Jewish Theological Seminary, Dad had studied under Rabbi Heschel, and together, they prayed with their feet during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1971, my father, Rabbi Everett Gendler, took a small […]
When I was growing up in Topeka, Kansas (yes, there are Jews in Topeka) I could never believe how much time my mother devoted to our small congregation, the only congregation in town. She was a single mom with three kids who worked full time, yet she took on almost every role needed at the […]
My husband, Peter Winkler, his parents, Joan and Ralph Winkler, and our children, Paul (now 33) and Hannah (29), brought me into the fold of Sinai. Sunny Sunday mornings I’d drop Paul off at Religious School and notice the warm, welcoming life in the hallways and classrooms, the lively discussion and laughter in the adult […]
My story has been primarily about community. From my first exposure decades ago to the Interfaith Couples Group (my on-ramp to becoming Jewish as well as a source of lifelong friends), I’ve always found meaning, wonderful people, and a sense of belonging within smaller groups at the temple. Participation in the choir and the Music […]
On March 4, 2017, we had the blessing of partaking in a double mitzvah. Our daughter, Elana, co-led the Shabbat morning service and became a Bat Mitzvah. It was a beautiful service and multiple family members remarked about how warm and welcoming it was. The clergy, Rabbi Rosenwasser and Cantor Croen, played a crucial part […]
Whenever someone learns where I grew up, they say “I never met anyone from Wyoming!” And, when they learn I’m Jewish, I hear “They have Jews in Wyoming?” So, to begin this Sinai Story, I want to confirm that yes, I did grow up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and yes, they do have Jews in Wyoming. […]
On hearing that I had converted to Judaism many African-Americans — family members, friends and even recent acquaintances, have all basically asked the same question “How are you being treated…?” Typically I give recent acquaintances the succinct response of “Well.” With family and friends I offer a more nuanced response. I tell them of my […]
I loved my grandmother. I always thought of her as the typical Jewish grandmother. She worried and kvetched. She bragged about famous Jews as if she knew them. She used coupons to buy things at the store whether she needed them or not. What she didn’t do was cook. At least well. She also didn’t […]
