In this inaugural feature, the Forward interviewed Rabbi Aaron Finkelstein, 31, and his wife, Julie Sugar, 30, at their home in Nashville, Tennessee. They moved there from New York so that Aaron could work at Congregation Sherith Israel and the Akiva School. Julie is a scriptwriter for an educational online program called YiddishPOP and also…
No one was injured when shots were fired outside a Nashville synagogue. The shots were fired outside the West End Synagogue on Monday morning, according to The Tennessean. Police identified at least one bullet hole between two windows at the front of the building. The shooting outside the 400-member Conservative congregation occurred hours before a…
My synagogue garden will be five years old this spring. That is how long it took to become a truly congregational enterprise, and not just a labor of love for me. Step 1: Get Leadership On Board Initially, I wanted to build the garden in the front of the shul. That was nixed by the…
Figs have long held my fascination. I grew up begging my mother for one more Fig Newton. Later, I had to stop myself from eating an entire container or bag of dried figs that my parents bought as a special treat. I often had to jockey with my dad for the last one. In college,…
Last summer I had the opportunity to attend the Hazon Food Conference through the generosity of Pursue. As a full-time food justice community organizer at that time, I had considerable information floating around my head about sustainability, structural racism’s role in our food system and the path our food takes from farm to fork. What…
Sometimes in Nashville, keeping kosher is about more than just the haksher (kosher symbol) on the packaging, it’s about finding the ingredients to begin with. Last week, I was tasked with making a Tu B’Shvat treat with my Sunday School class. I had also promised the class that we’d make a dessert. I’m sure they…
With Tennessee voters set to decide in November whether to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the issue is creating tension between religious and political values for many women in Nashville’s Jewish community. The struggle played out last week as about 75 individuals, from both Hadassah and the community at large, turned out for…
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