For me this story began in Jerusalem on December 11, 1917, but I didn't know it then. On that day, my grandmother Esther, who I'm named for, was one of the flower girls who welcomed General Allenby to the city of Jerusalem, which the British had just won from the Turks.  My grandmother was born in Rishon L'Tzion - a little town whose name literally means First to Zion. It was established by Jews from Lithuania who came to what was then Turkish Palestine. A few years later she was one of the flower girls welcoming Allenby. And not long after that, she was on a ship to New York with her younger brother and sister. In New York, Esther met her husband who had also been born in Turkish Palestine and as a teenager wanted to join the British army but was only allowed to be a drummer boy. Eventually he made his way to New York - even after being denied entry the first time. They had two kids and took them on the long voyage back to Palestine to meet the relatives - grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Years later a third child was born, my father, who missed this trip. And many, many years after that, I became the first person in my immediate family to go to Israel when I spent my junior year of college living in Jerusalem. Wow did I love Jerusalem. I mean, really love Jerusalem - and all of Israel.  And I miss it every day. Which is why, when I got the opportunity to read  the new memoir Jerusalem, Drawn and Quartered, I really identified with the first line of the book: "This is a love story." The author, Sarah Tuttle Singer, and I talked about the complexities and the layers of Jerusalem, and about her experience living in four quarters of the Old City last year.  I highly recommend getting a copy of her book, which is available in stores and on Amazon at http://bit.ly/JerusalemDrawnQuartered If you're not yet subscribed to the Out-of-the-Box Judaism podcast, I encourage you to do so now so you don't miss an episode.  To join us for the next Omer adventure, go to www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com/Omer. And to get a story each week in your inbox, sign up at http://bit.ly/nevermissagoodstory. The music on this episode is thanks to Rabbi Cantor Robbi Sherwin and comes from the album: Aish Hakodesh, available at OySongs.com For more information about Out-of-the-Box Judaism or to get in touch, visit me at www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com or connect on Facebook.

I had a fun conversation with running and holistic health coach Kathy Pugh. We talked about everything from the Boston Marathon to the Golden Calf and quite a few things in between. To run with Kathy or reach out to her for coaching, you can find her at www.KathyPughRunning.com. To join us for the Omer, go to www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com/Omer. And to get a story each week in your inbox, sign up at http://bit.ly/nevermissagoodstory. The music on this episode is thanks to Rabbi Cantor Robbi Sherwin and comes from the album: Aish Hakodesh, available at OySongs.com For more information about Out-of-the-Box Judaism or to get in touch, visit me at www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com or connect on Facebook.

Every religious tradition has mourning rituals, and of course, so does Judaism. Today, in memory of my friend Kate Bartolotta, I talk about Jewish mourning rituals and some ways people are grieving together on social media. Kate was a mother, a writer, an entrepreneur, an advocate for, and teacher of, self-care, a coach, and a beautiful human who recently passed away at a young age. You can get her book, Choose Joy, from Amazon: http://bit.ly/ChooseJoybyKateBartolotta To learn more about the journey of counting the Omer, read the details, and sign up at www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com/Omer The music on this episode comes from the song Adon Olam by Rabbi Cantor Robbi Sherwin, from the album: Aish Hakodesh, available where all awesome Jewish music is sold: OySongs.com For more information or to get in touch, visit me at www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com or connect on Facebook.

Do you have questions about Passover? So do I. Listen to the podcast for some good questions. Listen to yourself for some good answers. Happy Passover to all who are celebrating!

In this conversation with Cantor Debbi Ballard, we talk about personalizing Jewish events and rituals. Listen for Debbi's response to the question about how she incorporates ritual into her family and her life. Notice her first answer... and her second. To get in touch with Debbi, go to www.mypersonalcantor.com To join the group of "travelers" metaphorically going to Mt. Sinai, or to find out more about this adventure that you can have from home, visit www.outoftheboxjudaism.com/omer and sign up. Are you planning a bar or bat mitzvah or know someone who is? Download the bestselling book The Out-of-the-Box Bat Mitzvah: A Guide to Creating a Meaningful Milestone for free from www.outoftheboxjudaism.com, or buy it from Amazon at http://bit.ly/Out-of-the-BoxBatMitzvah The music on this episode comes from the song Adon Olam by Rabbi Cantor Robbi Sherwin, from the album: Aish Hakodesh, available where all awesome Jewish music is sold: OySongs.com For more information or to get in touch, visit me at www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com or connect on Facebook.

In this conversation with Naomi Malka, Director of Immersive Experiences at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC, we talk about the origin of mikvahs, ancient and modern rituals for their use, and even our own personal mikvah experiences. The story about intention referenced in the interview is "Was Aaron Doing Reiki?" and can be found here: http://bit.ly/OOTBJvayikra. To get all the Torah and holiday stories delivered to your inbox, as well as updated information about Naomi's book release, subscribe here: http://bit.ly/nevermissagoodstory