Home – EN

I had been preparing to write about Simchat Torah again. About the fact that this time I specifically invited (young) women so that my daughter and I would not be the only ones dancing with the Torah. But all of that was overshadowed. Overshadowed by the terrible events in Israel and it still seems unreal. […]

I criticise rabbis a lot. Often I am not happy about their decisions, their missing compassion, their unwillingness to put themselves into another person’s position, and most of the time this other person is a woman. I speak out, I challenge them. I’ve had my fights with a few of them and while we all […]

There were visitors in “my” synagogue today. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there and only found out about it after the end of the Shabbat. A married couple, a bit older, from Israel. They asked about the history of the synagogue, the community, the activities. Normal things, everyday questions. A question arose during this conversation. Whether there […]

A few years ago I noticed something at the synagogue. I’m sure this isn’t specific to my synagogue but can be seen in others as well. It died down during Corona, but seems to be making a comeback. At certain times on Shabbat the Tora cabinet is opened. A man is chosen for this. He […]

I’ve waited for 3 years.The past 2 years we spend with Covid and the synagogues were closed. The smaller ones at least. Mine. 2 years ago all we had were Tfillot for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Last year we had just started having prayers on Shabbat, but for Succot and Shmini Azeret/Simchat Tora no […]

Whenever I get a request for an interview, especially when it’s for TV, I find myself saying: “We can speak about anything. But I won’t bake Challah.” It’s not that I don’t bake Challah. I like to think of making very tasty Challah. But the connection between Jewish women and Challah annoys me a great […]

Just once.Just one single time.That would be so nice.Let’s be honest, once wouldn’t be enough. But one has to start somewhere, right? “Anyone else coming?“Someone close by?”“Everyone is invited.”“It’s vacation time and every single person counts.” Every time I read these messages a part of me wants to answer: “I’m on my way.” But I […]

Recently I have been learning about mourning in Judaism. I knew a little bit, but there are so many aspects and rituals I never heard of or thought about. It’s not a topic people talk about much. It’s scary and most of us don’t want to think about death too much. Since I started learning […]

Have you been to a synagogue lately?Or even before Covid. Germany has more than 100 synagogues. Some cities have more than one. And yet, most of them are empty. This could be explained by a number of things. Young people don’t want to live in small towns, so they go off to study in bigger […]

It’s Pessach. Mazza everywhere. Every Jewish household did what we all do – clean. We survived the Sederim and can now enjoy the rest of the Chag. As much as that is possible. I have been working during Chol HaMoed this year. Meaning, I went to work and spent a lot of time simply looking […]