Zach Shapiro

6 days ago | jewishjournal.com | Zach Shapiro

Dear all,Over the weekend, I set myself up in my home office to do some “very important things.”No sooner did I begin responding to emails, Maya came in and sat herself on my lap. “Maya, dear, I really need to get a few things done.”“Daddy, but you’re home. I’m home. What do you really need to do?”She had a point. We spent that moment in time harnessing joy with one another. Friends – joy is everywhere. We open our eyes, our hearts, and our souls. It may be a loved one. It may be rain falling.

1 week ago | jewishjournal.com | Zach Shapiro

Dear all,One of our members recently noticed that Temple Akiba is the only congregation in Culver City that does not have our front doors open for entrance. It’s a sad secuity reality. And it is not new. My mom sent the photo here, taken from her seat on EL AL as it was preparing for departure from Zurich to Tel Aviv in 1970. She took the photo to highlight the security surrounding the plane. (Just two years prior, an El Al plane had been hijacked, and the era of air piracy began).

2 weeks ago | jewishjournal.com | Zach Shapiro

Dear all,My car lets me know when I’m going over the speed limit. So do my kids. Here I was going 38 in a 35 zone. ”Daddy, you’re breaking the law and you might get a ticket and go to jail.” Eli said. ”Don’t worry, daddy,” Maya chimed. “I’ll visit you and bring you a sandwich.”The very nature of humanity is breaking boundaries. Without reaching for the fruit, we would still be in the Garden of Eden. Without yearning for freedom, we would still be slaves in Egypt.

4 weeks ago | jewishjournal.com | Zach Shapiro

Dear all,When I first saw Maya’s hands, I began to worry, “Yikes, PLEASE don’t schmutz up anything!”But I then realized … Someday I will look back at this tender moment in time wistfully, yearning for the wonderment that comes with parenting a young child. Ten sticky fingers. Ten incredible reasons to harness time. This season between the Festivals of Passover and Shavuot, Jews traditionally count off each day with a measurement of barley.

1 month ago | jewishjournal.com | Zach Shapiro

Dear all,We started teaching Maya and Eli the Four Questions of Passover just as they were learning to talk. (This photo is from last year’s Seder as they stood to sing them). Four Questions…. Judaism requires us to teach our children to how ask from the youngest age. And while there is a script to the Passover questions, the true purpose is to elicit additional questions. Questions about life. Questions about history. Questions about God. Questions about freedom. And yes …. Questions about politics.