by Mindy Rubenstein | f 23, 2023 | Repentance, Va'etchanan
Sixteen years ago, my husband and I–with our two toddlers–attended a beautiful Shabbat dinner with a rabbi and his family. Though I was born Jewish, I was brought up secular and had little connection to Judaism until then. At that meal I literally fell in...
by Mindy Rubenstein | f 22, 2023 | Joel, Repentance
I grew up secular: American first, Jewish by birth. No one in my circle of family or friends talked about God. Life as I knew it was about work, food and intellect. My extended family includes medical directors, college deans, lawyers, judges, scientists and...
by Mindy Rubenstein | f 17, 2023 | Elul, Repentance
My great-grandparents, Moshe and Kayla (Morris and Katy) Tanenbaum, for whom I am named, came from religious families in Ukraine and tried to preserve their Jewish life even in the U.S. Katy’s father, Fishel Rubin, was a rabbi and sent his daughter far away from the...
by Mindy Rubenstein | f 17, 2023 | Elul, Repentance
On the Jewish calendar, the Hebrew month of Elul begins tonight. This will be my second month of Elul in Israel. My family and I made Aliyah last September, two weeks before the High Holiday season. I was so excited and overwhelmed by the newness of our...
