Most of our religious observances are indoors--in our homes, in our synagogues. We generally do not like to create a public spectacle of our religious experiences, but we behave modestly and try not to call attention to ourselves as we perform mitzvoth. There are some exceptions to this. On Hanukkah, it is a particular mitzvah to publicize the miracle by placing our hanukkiyot where they can be seen by the passers-by. Sukkoth also has some aspects of taking our religious observances into the...

A photo of a young Rhodian Jewish boy of the Angel family, wearing the Star of David on the lapel of his coat. The Nazi menace decimated European Jewry, and its tentacles of hatred and violence reached even to North Africa and the Middle East. Jews of all backgrounds were victimized, and many stories about murdered family members remain as the heritage of Jews throughout the world. In our family-whose roots were in the Sephardic community of the Island of Rhodes-we also have a story. My...

The Passover Haggadah presents a dramatic format for dealing with questions relating to religious observance. It presents four children, representing different attitudes toward Jewish belief and ritual, along with the framework for how to answer each of the questioners. The "rasha" (wicked child) is antagonistic to Jewish tradition. He/she does not feel part of it, and asks: what's the point of all this ritual? Why do you do these things? The Haggadah realizes that there is little to be...