For an increasing number of Jewish grandparents, the traditional Chanukah they celebrated with their children won’t be the Chanukah their grandchildren celebrate next week. Instead, many grandchildren will be celebrating Chrismukah, a pop-culture term for holiday celebrations that include traditions from both Chanukah and Christmas. What...
When I was ten years old, our family saw Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway. This was a big deal. My grandparents, who NEVER went to the theater, came. As immigrants from Eastern Europe, Fiddler felt like their story. The first act climaxes with a wedding,...
As a bonafide Baby Boomer, I like to think of myself as someone who, along with my contemporaries, is reinventing the art of grandparenting. Oh sure, my cohorts and I will bake the Cookie Monster Oreos, read Dr. Seuss and celebrate the birthdays with trips to...
In the seam of time at the end of the summer, I set off on a hike with my grandson Simon. At nine years, he is a sturdy and interesting child. These days that we spend without his parents are precious to us both, time...
When I married in 1974 and started to have our children (1,2,3,4) we went down a pretty conventional and predictable Jewish path…. one pidyon ha-ben (the ceremony welcoming a first-born son) was followed by four bar and bat mitzvahs later. And then in birth order, our children began to marry...
Despite its tremendous joys, being a Jewish grandparent isn’t easy. Our kids are too religious or not religious enough. In other words, they don’t do it our way. This also applies to their thoughts about Israel: they may love it more than we do or...
“All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten,” continues to be a book that guides me as a grandparent. Its lessons are enduring. Don't take things that aren't yours. ...
