Jane E. Herman

Jane E. Herman (she/her), a.k.a. JanetheWriter, a longtime writer and editor at the Union for Reform Judaism, is now a senior writer at JCC Association of North America and blogs at JanetheWriter Writes. She grew up at Temple Emanu-El in Edison, N.J., and currently belongs to Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City.

Honoring My Mom's Legacy, on Mother's Day and Every Day

Jane E. Herman

Although it’s true that I don’t celebrate Mother’s Day with my own mom anymore, I do cherish and celebrate her love, her life, and her wisdom. In creating an ethical will for my sister and me, she plainly and thoughtfully laid out the values and ethics that mattered most to her, along with her hope that we will carry them on. She wrote, “We try to put our financial estate in good order, so how about our ethical estate? I’ve always told you the only thing of value you can leave behind is your good name…”

11 Resources to Better Your Seder

Jane E. Herman

With its focus on freedom, Passover is a perfect time to incorporate modern-day social justice issues into the retelling of our people’s journey from slavery to freedom. This round-up of holiday resources – including haggadot, themed inserts, an inclusion guide, and more – will help ensure a terrific and meaningful seder for everyone around your table.

On Yom Kippur: Fast, Pray, Browse

Jane E. Herman

In most ways, my observance of Yom Kippur won’t be much different than thousands of other Jews in pews across North America.

We’ll fast.

We’ll pray.

We’ll browse.

Wait, what was that last thing?

We’ll browse?

Indeed. 

Every Yom Kippur since 2007, my dad