Today, with nearly 300,000 Jews, the Chicago metropolitan area is home to the third-largest Jewish population in the United States. But to many Chicagoan Jews, it has the feel of a small town.
What is babka? The iconic Jewish treat is similar to—but not exactly synonymous with—coffee cake (which is lighter, fluffier and sweeter), and it’s not quite rugelach (which has a flaky cream cheese dough and is made without yeast).
Jewish parenting has never been simple: The original dysfunctional families are found in the Hebrew Bible. But today parenting is more nuanced and complicated than ever. Moment speaks with a range of Jewish parents and experts to explore what role, if any, Judaism plays in 21st-century parenting.
In the second place-winning story from the Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest, a Manhattan publicist returns to his sleepy Southern hometown and attempts to revitalize its Jewish life.
On a recent visit to America,I found myself one Shabbat morning in a large suburban shul. During the Torah service, after one of the aliyot, the rabbi gave a brief talk. He started by noting that it was the anniversary of Kristallnacht and ended by stressing the importance of the Holocaust to “our identity.”
“So, you’re probably not coming…” my daughter said with a mixture of fear and resignation…
