I’m so excited about the upcoming double holiday weekend. Not only will it be Memorial Day, we’ll also be celebrating Shavuot! (How cool is that?)

The only slight issue I’m having is planning the menu. Usually, my Memorial Day menu is heavy on BBQ chicken, but Shavuot is celebrated with dairy dishes. What’s a Jewish Lady to do? Compromise, of course!

For me, the best part of any meal are the side dishes (I don’t know if I’m weird, but it’s true.) So around here, we’ll be eliminating the meat and swapping in salmon, served with corn on the cob, potato salad, sliced watermelon, and best of all, chocolate covered cheesecake!

Shavuot wouldn’t be a party without ice cream or cheesecake, right? Last year, we had an ice cream feast, but I’m seriously craving cheesecake now. Everytime I make this recipe, I think about my aunt who always ordered it whenever it was on a menu. She and I are not close, but we do agree on dessert.

In addition to the food, there will be tons of Diet Coke, purchased on sale at Shaw’s, 5/$10—something I try to stock up on every Memorial Day.

I’m hoping for a relaxed weekend, full of good food, good weather, good company, and time to watch the annual PBS concert. I say it every year, yet it rarely happens. I don’t know if I’m jinxed or what, but most holidays, something goes wrong. 3 years ago, Memorial Day was destoryed when the water heater broke and emergency repairs were needed. On 4th of July, the washing machine went out. Murphy’s Law, I guess? 🙂

Anyway, while we’re celebrating we should also be mindful of what these holidays truly stand for: the brave men and women who gave their lives in defense of freedom and the everlasting gift that is the Torah.

I hope each of you has a wonderful holiday weekend and I’d love to know how you’re planning to celebrate.

On any given day, Orthodox women around the world visit the mikvah, in search of spiritual purification. None would ever imagine that their most private moments in a ritual bath would be spied upon and videotaped, yet over 150 women were victims of this despicable crime.

Such a crime is disturbing under normal circumstances, but when the predator turns out to be an Orthodox Rabbi, it’s truly unreal.

Rabbi Barry Freundel, former leader of Kesher Israel Congregation and a former advisor to Senator Joe Lieberman, was sentenced yesterday to 6 1/2 years in prison for his perverted behavior. Because the 3-year statue of limitations had expired for many of the victims, he is only serving time for 52 victims and the punishment equates to roughly 6 weeks per victim.

Frankly, that is disgusting. How many weeks, months, even years of terror will these women suffer from? I can guarantee it’s more than 6 weeks! For some, it may last a lifetime. Not only have they lost their trust in humanity, many have lost their faith, too.

To further complicate things, some of the victims were converts to Judaism, who were totally unfamiliar with customs and rituals and would’ve followed anything the Rabbi instructed them to do.

As a community, we tend to hero worship our Rabbis (I will readily admit that I’ve done this at times). While the overwhelming majority of Rabbis are caring, helpful, and of the highest integrity, they are still just people. And as we all know, people are not perfect. I wonder how many individuals suspected Rabbi Freundel was up to no good and made excuses or pretended it wasn’t happening. Thankfully, one brave lady who was a mikvah attendant, came forward and reported him.

In the Reform community, nobody visits the mikvah, so I have no personal experience with the practice. I have respect for any woman that chooses to go, but I’ve never felt it was needed. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the practice, I’m sure every woman would agree that the practice should never be violated.

The Orthodox world, which is very slow to change and resistant to modern concepts, has been devastated by this crime. Many are now calling for female leadership and more transparency—both of which I fully support.

We should always remember that predators come in every shape, size, religion, and color. Nobody is above suspicion and public safety must be protected at all costs. Blind faith should only be put in God, never Man.

To every victim of Rabbi Freundel, I would say how sorry I am for such unimaginable suffering and I would encourage them to hate the man, not the religion. Don’t let one horrible person separate you from Judaism and the Jewish community. The community cares about you, God cares about you, and you are not alone.

Anyone is welcome to share personal experiences of a Rabbi abusing their power. Because of the sensitive nature, anonymous comments are fine.

Anyone who lives in Northern New England should check out this awesome upcoming event! Colby College will be hosting The Maine Conference for Jewish Life from June 12-14, 2015 at the Waterville campus.

The 3-day conference will feature a wide variety of Jewish themed sessions and speakers. Participants can attend some or all of the conference and there is the option to stay overnight in the Colby dorms. The conference costs $45.00 a day ($120.00 for the entire conference). Housing on campus is an additional $30 a night, with children under 12 for free! Kosher food will be provided.

If you want to attend and can’t afford it, please inquire about scholarships. A lack of funds doesn’t have to prevent participation.

There is more info about the conference on their Facebook page and will also be featured in The Jewish Advocate.

I find this event so exciting! Outside of local temples, there isn’t much opportunity for Jewish communal life when you live north of Boston like I do. Provided my health is up to it, I’m planning to attend and would encourage anyone with the slightest interest to do the same.

Apples 4 the Teacher has free Passover coloring pages on their website.

Coloring is a fun activity to keep the kids busy before the Seder starts. We all know most little ones love to color, but a surprising number of tweens and teens do, too—provided they can overlook the “uncool” factor.

I put out a bunch of these and a basket of crayons and colored pencils last year and everyone joined in.