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Susan L.M. Goldberg

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Jun 2, 2021, 7:04 PM

The American Jewish future is in Israel, not the synagogue

Photo from the Jewish Heritage Mural, Lower East Side, New York City taken by Susan L.M. Goldberg

Tonight I’m talking with an instructor about enrolling my Jewish American son in Hebrew lessons. Not Hebrew school lessons and not the kind of Hebrew lessons that stop at “Tav makes the t-t-t sound like in toot!” I mean...

Oct 28, 2018, 1:22 AM

Pittsburgh: Time to Choose Peoplehood Over Politics

This morning I woke up to find that yet another barrage of rockets slammed into Israeli communities along the Gaza border last night. Only a few hours later did I learn that a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had been...

Oct 6, 2018, 8:26 PM

More Than a Twice A Year Jew

The holidays are finally over. I have a love-hate relationship with the High Holidays. I love them in terms of sweet challah, apple picking and dancing with the Torah; I loathe the unruly, lethargic strangers that clog my sanctuary...

Oct 1, 2016, 12:56 AM

The Secret to Raising a Successful Child

I just finished writing a 5-part series on technology and young children. While it was geared toward parents, my research actually said very little about the parent-child relationship beyond professional advice about limiting your child’s exposure to technology before...

Aug 13, 2016, 12:16 AM

Want to Combat BDS? Restore the Zionist Vision Among Jewish American Youth

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 We are a generation sorely lacking in vision. This became quite apparent to me as I sat in a crowded room...

Aug 5, 2016, 4:58 PM

A Jewish Mother’s Bill of Rights

I want to raise a good Jewish child. By that I mean I want to provide my son with plenty of opportunity to positively engage with his Jewish religion and culture in a variety of communal settings. I want...

Jun 20, 2016, 4:42 PM

The Case for Joining a Synagogue

As I begin writing this I’ve just finished doing something with my hair beyond sticking it in a ponytail for the first time in weeks. My husband is anxiously typing away at a work project on one of his...

Jun 3, 2016, 2:55 PM

Loud and proud in Tel Aviv, still silent and separate at the Kotel

Tel Aviv's leadership on civil rights contrasts starkly with the forces of exclusion at the Kotel in Jerusalem

May 14, 2016, 1:19 AM

When Do You Start Doing the Jewish Thing With Your Kid?

“We’ll start doing Shabbat in a few years when he’s old enough to remember,” my husband insists. But, what about us? What about our joy? Is Judaism merely the obligatory passing on of tradition, or is it a lifestyle choice?...

May 5, 2016, 5:49 PM

Time for American Jews to Make Jewish Great Again

Two landmark events happened simultaneously: Yom HaShoah began at sunset in Israel just as the Republican Party bowed to Donald Trump’s candidacy for President of the United States. As Israelis began tweeting memorials reminding us to Never Forget, Jewish Americans like...

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About Me

Susan L.M. Goldberg is a mother, writer and passionate Zionist with a Master’s degree in media studies. With her Israeli-American husband she stands at the crossroads of Israeli and Jewish American culture, politics and religious practice.