Michele Braun, at The Blogs

Nov 21, 2023, 1:16 AM

What is an individual’s obligation to make God’s assertions come true? For Rebekah, the second biblical matriarch, the answer was easy, even if it required a bit of subterfuge. The book of Genesis brings us into the time of the biblical...

Nov 1, 2023, 8:19 AM

A Jewish Journey

Photo of author's Hatched Jug Tapestry courtesy of the author.

The archetypical human story is that of a journey. Whether the journey is made by an individual, like Esther (Hadassah, in Hebrew), who went from sheltered niece to queen and heroine, or by a people, like the Israelites’ exodus...

Sep 8, 2023, 6:24 AM

Hannah’s Story for Rosh Hashanah

For years, I’ve thought of a selection from the Hebrew Bible traditionally recited on the first day of Rosh Hashanah as “Hannah’s story.” It turns out that this reading, from the first two chapters of the first Book of...

Aug 31, 2023, 1:26 AM

Rosh Hashanah: Round and Sweet

The round shape and sweet tastes of Rosh Hashanah foods match the optimism with which we greet a new year. As we hope for a fulsome and sweet year, filled with health and joy, our menu choices reflect these...

Aug 8, 2023, 12:20 AM

Israel@75: Memories and Missed Opportunities

Beit Riklis in a rare snow fall. Photo courtesy of the author.

It took Israel turning 75 for me to realize what should have been obvious: there are memories of facts, but also of experiences and feelings that accompany those facts. In my lifetime, there has always been an Israel. It was...

May 9, 2023, 12:43 AM

My Mother the Model: Passing Along Lessons, Culture and Values

Author Michele Braun and her mother, Dorothy Friedman Braun

My mother, Dorothy Friedman Braun, known as Dottie, joined Junior Hadassah in high school, probably at about age 16. When she died four years ago at 91, she was still a Hadassah member. In between was a lifetime of family,...

About Me

Michele Braun, a life member, Elana Chapter, Hadassah Westchester Region, provides adult Jewish education classes and consulting services to synagogues and community organizations. Her life-long journey through Jewish learning began in the first-ever nursery school class of Temple Emanuel in San Jose, CA. In some form, she has been a student of Jewish life and texts ever since. Michele earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and an MS in Public Management and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. Following a career in public policy with the Federal Reserve System, Michele returned to graduate school, earning an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew University in 2022 and launching a new career in adult education. Topics of particular interest include Contemporary Torah Study, Jewish Textile Art as Modern Midrash, and making mainstream classrooms more accessible to students with disabilities. Michele and her husband, Norman Bernstein, live in Pound Ridge, NY. Their daughter, S. Judith Bernstein, recently published "In Shadowed Dreams," a novella.

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