So I’m on this committee, well I’m on about 17 committees, but the one I’m going to talk about is in the process of planning an event for Jewish women. The Jewish Federation has a division called “Women’s Connection” whose purpose is to literally connect Jewish women through social, educational and spiritual programs. (A previous post of mine about the fashion show was put on by the same group.) This particular night we’re planning falls under the educational, and I suppose, social umbrella. And the topic for the evening: Jewish guilt.

After about 52 emails, several phone calls and one reschedule, we had our first committee meeting today. As we began discussing our topic, and all the aspects of guilt one could talk about, it seemed that two hours would hardly be enough time to say our hellos, introduce our speakers, show our kitschy video clips, facilitate our discussions, and eat our kosher desserts.…

I work in a furniture store. This past weekend we were giving mothers flowers in celebration of Mother’s Day. I am sure our approach would make Anna Jarvis spin in her grave, as Khaled Hamid pointed out in his post.

Our sales team discussed how we might present these flowers. The question was asked: “How do we know who is a mother?”

My first thought was “every woman is a mother“, so naturally every female customer should get a flower.

But the consensus of the sales team was that a mother is someone who has children and therefore we needed to delicately determine what female customers were eligible for our flowers.

While the sales team defined mothers as those women with children, I saw a larger vision of motherhood as informed by my faith. Maybe a vision that goes beyond the definition as presented by the founder of Mother’s Day. And one that escaped a customer in my store who refused my offer…

This past Tuesday night, close to 600 Jewish women gathered at the Frontenac Hilton for the “Couture & Cocktails” soirée. 600 Jewish women! In St. Louis! This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, turnouts the Jewish Federation of St. Louis has ever seen for one of their events.

The fashionable affair was thrown by the Women’s Connection of the Jewish Federation in honor of Israel’s 60^th anniversary. Once everyone maneuvered the gas main break at Clayton & Warson roads, the gala began with live music by Rick Recht, a Jewish rock star if you will, accompanied by the Beit Israeli Children’s choir. Traditional Israeli food was served (think falafel and tabbouleh) followed by a runway fashion show featuring the chic clothing of Israeli designer, Biya, and dazzling bling from Mavrik Fine Jewelry. All being modeled by some really incredible local Jewish women…and me.

So I’m not just writing about this to share with you…