ALANNA E. COOPER
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what you might discover using a home geneAlogy test-kit

10/17/2018

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If you’ve taken a genealogy test at home, you are in good company. In 2018 alone, over 12 million in this country have used home-test kits to get information about their genetic past. My sister Ziva is one of them. . . . 

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loss, love and life in stills

10/10/2018

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Running just an hour long, the film Life in Stills, packs in a poignant story about a nation, a city, and a
​captivating family. . . 
Picture

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inspired by alvin siegal's legacy

10/3/2018

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When you meet a person who is near the end of their life, it can take work to imagine them youthful and full of vigor. I thought about that difficulty when I met Alvin Siegal five years ago, shortly after I had moved to town. He was 90 years old at the time.

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KEEPING UP WITH THE JEWISH NEWS

9/26/2018

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I can't keep up with the constant flow of news, the updates, and the never-ending changing websites. By the time I get well-informed on one issue, something new has already taken over the headlines.  I know I am not alone in this struggle.

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DOWNSIZING, disposing of sacred stuff

9/12/2018

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Sometimes we refer to the objects we own as "stuff." It's a light term - almost slang - although our memories, and even our identity can be bound up with these objects. And it can be a difficult, heart-wrenching process to weed through these things when downsizing from a large home to a small apartment.

I recently watched a whole community in Erie, PA, go through this same process as they downsized from a grand synagogue into a small, modest building - making decisions about nearly a century's-worth of accumulated "stuff."


To read more about this story, check out my article “When an old synagogue downsizes, what do you do with all its stuff?” published on the JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) website.
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tashlich ritual: magic or purge?

9/5/2018

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With the Jewish new year upon us, I’ve been thinking about tashlich - the odd holiday ritual of walking to a stream, tossing in breadcrumbs, and reciting verses of supplication. This very old folk practice is illustrated in an arresting woodcut made in the 16th century.

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MUSUEM EXHIBIT UNFOLDS: ISRAEL THEN & NOW

8/29/2018

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I visited the Maltz Museum last week to get a glimpse of the soon-to-be-opened exhibition, “Israel Then and Now.” I found the walls painted a lush shade of blue, but the space still empty, anticipating state-of-the-art modules that are to be installed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, one lone wooden crate sits on the floor.

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new column, new course

8/15/2018

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I’m excited to launch this weekly newsletter to keep you updated on the lively events that we have going on at CWRU-Siegal Lifelong Learning. I’ll also be using this column to share what I learn through my own explorations of the Jewish world.

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Forward>>
    ALANNA'S JEWISH EXPLORATIONS: 
    Through my work, 
    I have the opportunity to explore a variety of interesting segments of the Jewish world.  Follow along here.  And see our website for a great range of learning opportunities CWRU-Siegal Lifelong Learning
    PAST POSTS
    • Potato Latkes and a Goat: A Hanukah Story​
    • Unveiling for Synagogue Congregation
    • We have to make pragmatic decisions Post-Pittsburgh
    • Parenting in the midst of Ohio's addiction crisis
    • Philip Roth on aging, anxiety, sex, Holocaust: Wexler weighs in
    • What you might discover using a home genealogy test kit
    • Loss, Love and Life in Stills (film review)

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