Tying It Together: Renewal, Family and Gratitude
Thanksgiving, Toldot, and Rosh Chodesh Kislev

As we leave the quiet of the month of Heshvan and into a season of festivities beginning with Thanksgiving, we read in the Torah the story of the rival brothers Jacob and Esau. How does it all tie together? The renewal of a brand new month, the anticipation (or dread) of one family gathering after another, and the gratitude that underlies them all?

 Hazzan Barbara Barnett has been a cantor and Jewish educator for nearly 30 years. A member of the Cantors Assembly and a Bord member of the Jewish Educators Assembly, she has strived to make Judaism, prayer and spirituality accessible to all through music, writing and even heated debate. Originally from Chicago, where she most recently served as one of the Hazzanim at a large Conservative synagogue, she now makes her home in Pittsburgh with her husband Phillip, their Border Collie Semra.