Author Archives: dancingdinosaur

Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day in the counting of the Omer, started as a celebration in a time of great despair throughout all of Israel. In Rabbi Akiva’s day, a terrible plague swept Israel. Thousands died. The people were desperately afraid. They thought the plague would never end and they despaired. But on Lag B’Omer,Continue reading “Despair and Hope (a Lag B’Omer story)”

It was a sad scene at the Kaplan home in the days leading up to Halloween. The gloom, however, had nothing to do with ghouls and goblins. Rather, the problem had to do with Shabbat. Now, you might ask, what does Halloween have to do with Shabbat? Absolutely nothing, of course, at least usually. ButContinue reading “Shabbat Ghosts (a Halloween story)”

Naomi was sad. She missed her mommy. Mommy had been gone for more than a week. She was in the hospital. Naomi’s father took her and her little brother to see their mommy almost every day, but it wasn’t the same as having her home. Mommy wasn’t really sick at all. The doctors made herContinue reading “Creation Story”

The ninth day of Av, Tish’ah Be’av, is considered the saddest day of the Jewish year. It is said that on that day the spies returned from Canaan with their discouraging reports about a land of giants that the Jews could not conquer, showing their lack of faith in God. It was also on saidContinue reading “Simon’s Bad Day”

Robert and his friend Kevin were so busy playing in the basement that they didn’t realize how hungry they were until Kevin’s mother called them upstairs for a snack. Kevin’s mom seemed really nice. “I heated up some pizza for you boys,” she called. The boys raced up the stairs to the kitchen. The pizzaContinue reading “Extra Effort”

“Are you all right, Zadie?” Dinah asked her grandfather. Zadie seemed to be staring off into space. Dinah was worried. Zadie had been sick, and now he couldn’t be left alone. That’s why she was there. Bubbie, her grandmother, had to go out of the house for a few hours, so Dinah came over toContinue reading “Talking With God”

The village of Chelm is well known for the unusual ways its people think and the sometimes silly things that result. We’ve all probably heard stories of Chelm and its people, called Chelmites. Chelm is a Jewish village, a shtetl, located in the countryside of Poland, or maybe it’s Lithuania or Latvia or even Russia.Continue reading “The Chelmite Rebellion”

The stranger immediately stood out among the regulars at morning minyan, a daily Jewish prayer service. He was tall, young, and athletic. He carried a guitar and a backpack. He stashed his guitar in the corner, pulled tefillin out of his backpack, and joined right in. Since this was a Thursday, the minyan service includedContinue reading “Thanksgiving”

“C’mon! Let’s go. We’re late,” shouted Natalie. It was 9:15 on Saturday morning and things were already crazy, as usual. David, her nine-year old, was supposed to be at baseball practice 15 minutes ago but couldn’t find one of his sneakers. Sarah, the toddler, was making a mess of her breakfast all over the kitchen.Continue reading “The Hardest Commandment”

‘Today, children, we will continue with our study of cultures around the world by learning about the Native Americans who lived in the western plains” explained the fifth grade teacher. “And,” she continued, “as a special treat, we have a visitor who will show us a real, Native American rain dance. The native tribes usedContinue reading “A Jealous God”