Faith, Religion, and Spirituality


Breath, the Divine Metaphor, Becomes the Hallmark for America’s Twin Crises

Insights on breath and breathing from seven of the world’s religions. - Religion News Service, July 8, 2020


For Synagogues, High Holidays Welcome Is Complicated by Security Needs

How Jewish houses of worship are navigating the relationship between “welcome” and “safe” in an age of anti-Semitic violence - Religion News Service, September 24, 2019


Spirituality at Tufts: Hillel and Beyond

For Jewish students at Tufts, social justice and social life make for a meaningful community. -Tufts Now, April 25, 2019


How to Save the World: Schedule Some Awe in Your Summer Vacation

Travel, psychologists say, can change lives, especially when it’s to destinations that elicit awe and wonder. - Religion News Service, June 25, 2018.


Billy Graham Leaves a Positive Interfaith Legacy, with a Few Blemishes

Jewish leaders describe Graham as someone who set Jewish-evangelical relations on the right course—with a few notable exceptions. - Religion News Service, February 21, 2018


‘Interfaith’ Term Rings Hollow for Some Jews

Many interfaith couples and families now consider their faith identities to be ‘fluid.' - Religion News Service, December 18, 2017


Don’t Throw the Word “Nazi” Around

Calling today’s white supremacist marchers “Nazis" neither respects history nor is particularly helpful in stopping us from repeating it. - Religion News Service, August 25, 2017


“God Can Grow You” and Other Things Kids Think About God

Inside the uncensored minds of children live some wise, funny, sweet ideas about God. - JewishBoston.com, January 2016


Quiz: Which Biblical Character Are You?

From Ruth to Moses, take the quiz and meet your biblical match. - Kveller.com, January 2016


Quiz: Which Jewish Food Are You?

Do matzah ball soup, pastrami on rye, or potato latkes speak to your soul? - Kveller.com, January 2016


Quiz: What Jewish Holiday Are You?

What’s your Jewish holiday personality? Take the quiz and find out. - Kveller.com, December 2015


What’s So Funny About Hanukkah? Ask the Kids!

The Festival of Lights turns out to be fertile ground for kids to make funny mix-ups and sweetly wise comments. - JewishBoston.com, November 2015


10 Activities for Meaningful High Holy Days with Kids

Craft, bake, and play your way through the 10 Days of Awe to infuse the holy season with meaning and memories, even for the youngest kids. - JewishBoston.com, September 2015


7 CEOs with Devout Religious Beliefs

These Fortune 500 executives don’t all share the same religious convictions, but they all say they are informed and inspired by faith and spirituality, both inside and outside the boardroom. -Fortune.com, November 2014


“What Do You Want to Do About Christmas?”

Is my Jewish son confused about why Santa visits his cousins but not us? Probably. Does that make me worry about the strength of our Jewish family? Not in the least. JewishBoston.com, December 2014


You’d Better Not Lie: How Honesty and Belief Collide in the Santa Claus Myth

Is Santa Claus, in the moral sense, an example of parents lying to their children? Or is it a fun way for families to foster childhood magic and even support a life of faith? In Character, April 2007


The Long Search for a Comfortable Position as a Jew Who Practices Yoga

I felt guilty finding spiritual fulfillment outside my faith, until I realized that Judaism and yoga don't have to be mutually exclusive.
- Tablet Magazine, Nov. 2013


Cuppa Joe, With a Twist

Pura Vida Coffee, like most socially responsible companies, takes its profits with a splash of conscience. 
- Sojourners Magazine, May 2002


Breeding Ground

In a graphic memoir and an online video, two women channel anguish over infertility into art, with their Jewish faith guiding them in surprising ways.
- Tablet Magazine, August 2010

 


Review: Whitewashing Radical Islam

This is radical Islam?  Readers of Daveed Gartensteen-Ross’ memoir “My Year Inside Radical Islam” will be puzzled over this question, as he casts the story of a spiritually confused young man in a light that serves neither Muslims nor his non-Muslim readers.
- Slate.com, March 5, 2007


Keeping the Faith in College

There's nothing 'old school' about college today. But religious students on secular campuses know how to keep the faith.
- Beliefnet.com, November 2005


Behind the Hype (and Fears) of 2012

The complex Mayan calendar stops and re-starts again on December 21, 2012.  The “re-starts” part is escaping the notice of many who are preparing for an apocalypse that scholars say is not what the calendar’s creators ever imagined.
- Newsweek, September 25, 2006