Posts by Mark Sunshine
Why Does a Synagogue President Become the Easter Bunny?
This article was originally published in the Florida Jewish Journal, April 2019. You can read the full article here. I am Jewish and the president of Temple Beth El of Boca Raton, and for the last few years I have celebrated Easter. That’s right, I go to an Easter dinner with hundreds of families and…
Read MoreChanukah Reconsidered
Chanukah? Every year we celebrate Chanukah without a lot of consideration of its larger message. Chanukah’s a fun holiday; but is there more to Chanukah than the relative fluff of giving gifts, playing with the dreidel and eating latkes? As it turns out, Chanukah speaks to our modern day American Jewish experience. Chanukah is all…
Read MoreThe Mourner’s Kaddish Is For The Living
Mourner’s Kaddish: Central to Jewish Prayer The Mourner’s Kaddish is the most recognized and central prayer of the Jewish mourning ritual, even though it does not, even once, mention death. Starting with the prayer’s first verse, the Mourner’s Kaddish is a reaffirmation of faith, life and a prayer for peace. Instead of lamenting the past,…
Read MoreTravel Insurance Makes Good Cents!
BE KIND. BE RESPONSIBLE. Purchasing your pre-need funeral arrangements is one of the kindest and most financially responsible things you can do for your family. Not only do you lock in the cost of your funeral at today’s prices (rather than future inflated and higher prices), you help your loved ones’ cope with your passing…
Read MoreThe California Wildfires
JUDAISM BROUGHT TO LIFE. Last week I traveled to California and visited Napa and Sonoma counties. The trip touched me in many ways. Approximately 6 months ago, Napa and Sonoma counties were ablaze from an out of control wildfire that incinerated an area larger than New York City. The Devastation of a Fire Lingers Beyond…
Read MoreDog Sent To Wrong Airport by Airline – What If That Was Mom?
AIRLINES TRY HARD … … But they make shipping mistakes all the time. The latest shipping “kerfuffle” occurred when United Airlines shipped a dog to Japan instead of Kansas. The family was apoplectic and the airline was profoundly embarrassed. The details are in the links below: Dog Bound For Kansas Mistakenly Shipped To Japan Via…
Read MoreWinnie the Pooh says, “How Lucky I Am To Have Something That Makes Saying Goodbye So Hard.”
IT’S PAINFUL TO SAY GOODBYE. Most people don’t realize how much effort it takes to write something that is simple yet meaningful. Yet, the author of Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Miline, was able to communicate the meaning a message that readers at any age could understand. That is one of love, friendship, responsibility and profound loss.…
Read More“They’re Gonna Lose Mom!!”
TRANSPORTATION OF THE DECEASED: That was my wife’s fear when her mother passed away in Florida. We needed to transport her up north for burial and we worried that she would get “lost”. My wife was sure that if the airline could lose her luggage, then they could do the same with her mother.…
Read MoreWhitewashed History: The Tragedy of 9 Adar
THE HOUSE OF HILLEL & THE HOUSE OF SHAMMAI Every Jew has heard the ancient stories of the Houses of Hillel and Shammai and their opposing views in the early codification of Jewish law. We learned that Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai disagreed on virtually everything. They even disagreed about whether it was wrong to…
Read More“What You Are Now We Used To Be; What We Are Now You Will Be…”
MY VISIT TO THE CAPUCHIN CRYPT My wife and I were in Italy last Halloween eve. We decided that the most appropriate way to commemorate Halloween was to sign up for a Roman “Crypt Tour” and visit some of the oldest known burial sites in the world. However, when we visited the Capuchin Crypt we…
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