This past weekend, I was home in Chicago’s northern suburbs running some errands and shopping with my mom. Inevitably, I fielded the question: “There are Jews in Champaign-Urbana?”
Being a Jew in C-U: From Maxwell Street to Neil Street
January 28, 2010 By 3 Comments
This past weekend, Chicago’s Maxwell Street Klezmer Band performed at Krannert Center. Twenty-two years ago, they also performed at my Bat Mitzvah.
Being a Jew in C-U: Off to Church I Go
January 7, 2010 By 2 Comments
Recently I went to church. OK, I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence. More accurately, I went to a baptism that just happened to be in a church. Of course, because that’s where baptisms usually take place.
Being a Jew in C-U: A Christmas Story
December 24, 2009 By 13 Comments
It is Christmas Eve, and the annual marathon of “A Christmas Story” is about to begin (7 p.m. local time, I believe). We all have our own Christmas story, even if we don’t celebrate the holiday.
Being a Jew in C-U: December Dilemma, Part II
December 10, 2009 By 5 Comments
It’s a question that many Jewish parents struggle with – how to address Santa’s “discriminatory” practices on Christmas Eve. Does he not like us? Doesn’t he care? What if we leave cookies for him? Or a stocking? Or a shoe on our doorstep?
