By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
September 9, 2022
One of our Guzik-Sherman family traditions is displaying our apple and honey dishes. Over the years, we have collected a beautiful assortment—some of which are precious gifts, others our children have created over the years. We take about 20 minutes to determine which dish should go where and marvel over what our now big kids brought home during the preschool years. But always, we ask the question, why do we eat apples dipped in honey?
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
September 2, 2022
Last week, our clergy team stood on the corner of Wilshire and Beverly Glen, filming a pre-High Holy Day message for the community. Rabbi Taff blew the shofar. Loud, piercing, emotional blasts that caused the clergy to pause and stare. Not just us. Car by car, drivers rolled down their windows, unable to turn away, some with looks of awe, others with curiosity. One person yelled out, “Shana Tovah!” And as the blasts continued, I wondered if we are truly ready for Rosh Hashana to begin.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
August 26, 2022
I am thoroughly enjoying the social media posts of children and grandchildren’s first day of school: The well-choreographed poses, clean shirts, and bright smiles. We’ll certainly post pictures as our children begin Sinai Akiba Academy next week.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
August 19, 2022
In San Francisco, we received a great tip to visit the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Tucked within a decorated alley, we almost missed this hidden gem. A narrow door revealed fortune cookie wonders: All different flavors of cookies and best of all, the chance to write your own fortune and watch it get folded into a cookie.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
August 12, 2022
As we flew home to Los Angeles from Philadelphia, we noticed a young girl sitting between an older man and woman.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
August 5, 2022
Our family spent a morning playing Putt Putt. As someone with little patience during any kind of game, I am not an avid player. Unsure of whether it’s a universal rule, I was happy to learn that we’d have a limit of five turns per player before we moved to the next hole.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
July 29, 2022
Another summer beach day. Sitting on the shore, I noticed two different kinds of people.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
July 22, 2022
This week I finally have three kids under one roof. It feels as if summer can officially begin. As the three reunited, they ran outside to color the sidewalk with an array of chalk.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
July 15, 2022
This week, our family spent a few hours at the beach. As we made our way to the sand, a woman was entertaining those on the boardwalk, singing lyrics from The Rolling Stones.
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By Rabbi Nicole Guzik on
July 8, 2022
Our children are at sleepaway camp. So far, we haven’t received any letters in the mail. I sent each kid with pre-addressed, pre-stamped postcards. And each day, my husband and I visit the mailbox and stare at its empty container, a reminder that most likely, those letters aren’t coming our way.
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