As Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival, begins, I present “Stories in the Sukkah” a video of three stories about food, generosity, appetite, scarcity and plenty. The tradition is to spend time in a temporary dwelling, open to the elements, acknowledging the fragility of shelter, and the cycles of seasons, growing and harvest. My experience with growing food goes back to when I was a teenager. … [Read more...]
Children Wonder about Trees and Torah
March 5, 2020 by
“How are we like trees?” I asked a group of third graders at Temple Shir Tikvah* in Winchester, MA. “Trees are unique, like us,” one child pointed out. “Trees take showers when it rains. Then they dry off in the sun,” another child laughed. “Yeah, the sun is like their towel!” We were off to a great start. I had wondered: would 8 and 9 year olds be able to think metaphorically? “Let’s … [Read more...]
Ruth Rubin’s Legacy of Yiddish Folksongs
October 3, 2018 by
Ruth Rubin was my mentor and my friend, and the subject of a video documentary I produced in the 1980's. I am thrilled that the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research recently launched an online archive of the life work of this remarkable Yiddish folksinger and folklorist. This new online resource “Ruth Rubin Legacy” includes 1100 field recordings of Yiddish folksongs from the 1940’s - 1970’s, … [Read more...]
Stories of Roots and Routes
August 16, 2018 by
Within days of arriving in Boston in 1991, Mila and Mike Margul looked for a temple to say mourner’s kaddish for Mike’s parents. As immigrants from Odessa, Ukraine, being in the U.S. meant that now they could observe Jewish customs more freely. Mike found Temple Shalom of Newton on a map and walked 1½ hours to find it. He was met with a warm welcome: temple members brought toys and clothes for … [Read more...]
Stories Create a Legacy
June 21, 2018 by
Ros was nervous. The night had arrived to tell her story at “The Emoth Hour” – Temple Emeth’s version of a “Moth” style coffee house with members telling personal stories. As people were setting up the social hall she confessed to me, “I’m not sure I can do this.” I encouraged Ros to try a run through for the small group of storytellers who had arrived early. Supported and assured that her … [Read more...]
What is Stage Presence?
August 2, 2017 by
“What will she think of my performance?” I wondered as I stood backstage and spied my mother sitting in the 5th row back. She was not just an average proud parent in the school auditorium. My mother was an actress. I was used to sitting in the audience and watching her sing and dance on stage, and seeing plays that she had directed. Here I was, in my party dress, six years old, and about to … [Read more...]
Revolutionary
June 27, 2017 by
I arrived at my 5th grade classroom one winter morning and saw unusual flowery script on the blackboard. In a stern voice, our teacher read aloud : “Proclamation: From this day forth, every assignment and test must be handed in with a "stamp." Stamps must be purchased with ten copies of the week's spelling list. Severe penalties if you do not comply. No exceptions. Signed, The Duchess of … [Read more...]
From Generation to Generation
May 25, 2017 by
https://vimeo.com/216693263 “The stereotype is that old people sit around and play bingo,” said a 6th grade participant at Temple Shir Tikvah’s intergenerational project in Winchester, MA. But hearing stories from real life experiences shed new light on those assumptions, and on current social issues. Over the course of the school year, kids and seniors met monthly. At one session they … [Read more...]
Journey to America
April 10, 2017 by
“Right away we made plans to go to America,” my Grandpa told me. “Your Grandma and I, we met, we fell in love. We wanted to go join our brothers in New York.” My grandparents, Markus Horowitz and Mania Alter, were born in Poland at the turn of the 20th century. Like many of their generation, they dreamt of immigrating to America, a land that offered more opportunity and less … [Read more...]
Close to Home: Family Stories
February 25, 2017 by
Grandma Jeanette and her sister Kitty were close in age and their good humored, wise cracking competition stretched well into adulthood. They both got married and pregnant with their first children in their early twenties and continued to live in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. Kitty’s baby was due three months before Jeanette’s. But Kitty’s due date came and went and nothing happened. Day … [Read more...]