6 years ago tomorrow, I made the decision to begin covering my hair. It was such a momentous decision to me that I noted it on my calendar the same way I noted the day I decided to convert, birthdays, and anniversaries. It is a mitzvah for married Jewish women to cover their hair and … Continue reading Haircovering
It occurred to me that this might be a good post to write. Despite the fact that converts have always been a part of Judaism and that most communities have many, in most communities I've lived in, conversion remains for most people a kind of secretive process and there's a lot of misconceptions about it. … Continue reading What I Wish More People Knew About Conversion Candidates
It's sunny and warming up here in the frozen north. Everywhere I look, the snow is melting and we're seeing patches of green grass underneath, a glimpse of the world that will be ours in just a week or two if things continue. The world is waking up here after the long winter and birds … Continue reading Spring and the Sabbath Always Come
To boil or not to boil? Which customs shall we use? How stringent do we want to be this year? These are all relevant questions we face as we clean out cabinets and work to gobble up all the chametz (leavened foods) in our house prior to Passover. We're often on our own to try … Continue reading The Ups and Downs of “Practicing” Pesach
The sun is now up past bedtime. It peeks through the little edges of the blackout shades, sneaking into the room, tiptoeing to my eyelids. Granted, bedtime at the Safek household is around 9-9:30pm. We hit the hay early and get up early. But still, the sun is coming back, regaining his dominion over life … Continue reading Passover Prep – Alaska Style!
The snow is still piled high, but the sun is setting late, nearly bedtime already. Spring in Alaska is a time full of contradictions and calling Pesach cleaning "Spring cleaning" never quite seems to fit...and yet it does. Even if more snow may come, the days growing strangely long tell my body that summer is … Continue reading Choosing Minhags (Customs)…or Not?
The Safek 