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I’ve always felt that the Jewish New Year arrives at a much better time than the regular Gregorian one. It hits right as we’re saying goodbye to summer and welcoming fall, starting a new school year, and getting back into the swing of things after a few months of slowness. Against that backdrop we are called to review the past year, account for our words and deeds, and pledge to do better in the coming year.
It’s like the rush of getting fresh school supplies, but for your soul.
With Rosh Hashanah starting Friday at sundown, there’s no better time to take stock, look inward, and decide who we want to be in the coming year.
Last year I asked writers, artists, and designers for their Jewish New Year’s resolutions. This year, I’m asking you.
What do you want to do differently this year? What do you want to commit to?
That’s something my GOLDA Girls co-hosts and I have been talking about in the lead-up to the High Holidays:
On this week’s episode, my co-hosts—novelist Esther Chehebar, journalist Gabby Deutch, and Rabbi Diana Fersko—and I discuss our preparations for Rosh Hashanah, from the meal prep (Esther is hosting Rosh lunch for more than 40 people 🤯) to the spiritual side of things, with inspiration from the Simchat Torah Challenge. We also break down L’Affaire Galliano, hear some bageling stories from our listeners, and share what’s Good for the Jews this week. You can listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
To jumpstart your Jewish learning this year, head to simchattorahchallenge.org/golda.
One of the most exciting books I’ve seen in a long time is The Art of Jewish Joy, a hot pink coffee table book packed with family-friendly craft projects. It’s the brainchild of craft maven and ProjectKid founder Amanda Kingloff and artist and illustrator Suzy Ultman. The book takes you through the Jewish year, offering clever and creative ways to tap into holidays and traditions: a mini sukkah made from colorful streamers, scratch-off Hanukkah coupons, homemade seed packets for Tu B’Shvat, upcycled groggers, a family mini zine project, paper weaving, and so much more.
The book is bright and beautiful (it’s prop styled by the endlessly talented Randi Brookman Harris, who I worked with on The 100 Most Jewish Foods), and offers a blueprint for a fun, hands-on approach to Jewish life.
Amanda and Suzy met on Instagram a few years ago and quickly started brainstorming projects together. The result is the perfect blending of both their universes: thoughtful, elevated, accessible, and inspired.
Here’s my conversation with Amanda Kingloff and Suzy Ultman about bringing a DIY spirit to 5787 with The Art of Jewish Joy—plus an easy, meaningful Rosh Hashanah project they’re sharing the book.
Amanda and Suzy, it’s so nice to be talking with you. I have to say, this book is so beautiful—and so fun. And that seems to be the point. My oldest daughter is five, and something I’m always so struck by is how much fun she has being Jewish. She loves the music, the challah, the art projects, all those glitter candlesticks they make. And it’s amazing to see this book rooted in that beautiful DIY ethos of let’s make our own bright Jewish world for our kids. I love what you're doing, which is equipping families to make their Jewish lives joyful, and to literally make things.
Suzy: Kids process differently, and are obviously developmentally very different at ages 4 and 8 and 14. When you're introducing them to Jewish concepts, it’s not going to be the same for every kid in the family—but the one thing that is the same is the idea of play. Everybody likes to get around the table and draw together. This idea of joy, of having fun together as a family, that’s what this book is all about. How do we give that gift to your 2-year-old and your 10-year-old and your 50-year-old self and share it as a family?
Amanda: This book is very much something that you can do at home with your family. There's something about making things together, making mistakes together, knocking over the paint water together—it all becomes a memory and it all becomes a shared connection. And then these objects that you’ve made live in your home. I also think a lot of times as parents we’re the gatekeepers of everything for our kids, but we don’t always know the reasons behind everything ourselves. Like, for example, why we smell besamim on Havdalah.
And that's the reality—a lot of parents didn't necessarily think so much about the Jewish life they'd be creating for their kids, but in recent years it's become more important to them. I love that you approach this book with the idea that parents don't need to be experts. They can learn too. The result is a book that’s kid-friendly but not surface-level.
Suzy: Amanda and I talked about that early on, that we wanted you to be able to access the book from wherever you are. We’re trying to meet people where they're at with their Jewish education. There are people that will read the whole thing cover to cover and learn a lot. And there are people who might just flip through thinking, "I want a neat Sukkah project,” and they can find that and get the sense of the holiday. It works on a lot of different levels.
Amanda: We knew we weren't writing a book about making Judaica. We weren't going to be making candlesticks and kiddush cups and challah covers. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But we wanted the projects to speak to what you can get out of these rituals intellectually and emotionally. We did a Seder plate, but it's a Kintsugi Seder plate that's been broken and then put back together. You still see the cracks, which celebrates the imperfections and also references the broken tablets, which stayed in the ark even when Moses got the second set, even though they were imperfect. I just love that.
You guys get extremely creative in this book. I love how unexpected some of these projects are.
Suzy: Another thing Amanda and I have in common is we both come from a space where we like to upcycle, we like to use whatever is around the house for our projects. For me that goes way back to when I was a kid. I used to make a ton of things out of cereal boxes and old Pringle cans. I used to make these weird dolls with old Pringle cans.
Those are like first edition Suzy Ultman designs. We have to find them.
Suzy: The menorah in the book was done with a cereal box, and that was something I've done for a couple of years with my own kids. It’s like, we have cereal boxes, why don’t we cut it out and stick clothespins on it?
Amanda: I just turned to the page with the tzedakah box, which is made from a cracker box. That’s part of my ethos with the crafts that I've been doing for years and with Project Kid. I will take an hour and walk up and down the grocery store aisles or the drugstore aisles, not to shop for anything, just to look at the shape of bottles. “Oh, that looks like a lighthouse,” for a Wesson oil bottle. Or the little round Martinelli’s bottle, such a good shape.
It’s so cute.
Amanda: Kids will see an object, and maybe not know what it is. So they see a shape. This is a bottle of paint, but they could be, “Oh, that looks like a finger puppet.” We don’t really do that anymore. We lost that muscle because we know too much.
It’s so important though. What I realized watching my daughter is that I want to have the same fun with my Jewish identity that she has. I feel like we lose that as adults, especially now, when being Jewish can feel so heavy. And what I love about this book is that feels like it's almost as important for the grown-ups in this moment.
Suzy: It's giving everybody permission to just celebrate their Judaism. I do think there are a lot of people that need permission right now to just feel the joy, to let it in, and I feel like that's really important. Finding those moments to embrace your Jewish joy and celebrate the things that Judaism creates around you is really special and important.
I’m excited to share one of my favorite prompts from The Art of Jewish Joy, just in time for Rosh Hashanah.
From Our Partners — Institute for Jewish Spirituality
Are you tired of going through the motions at the High Holidays? The Institute for Jewish Spirituality is offering three virtual mini-workshops that introduce Jewish spirituality grounded in mindfulness as a way to transform how you show up this year. Beginners and all observance levels are welcome.
Manage the High Holiday hustle with three quiet hours of meaningful pause, reflection, and breathing room. The series starts this Wednesday, and takes you through each of the holidays:
Rosh Hashanah session: Wed Sept 9, 7:30-8:30pm ET
Yom Kippur session: Wed Sept 16, 7:30-8:30pm ET
Sukkot session: Wed Sept 23, 7:30-8:30pm ET
Find out more and sign up for the series here.
On Tuesday, Sept. 15 I’ll be interviewing curator Dr. Smadar Sheffi at the opening reception of A Taste of Belonging, an exhibit about the intersection of art, culture, and cuisine at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Register here.
On Thursday, Sept. 17 I’ll be in conversation with Dr. Beth Ricanati at the NYC launch event for her book, The Braided Prescription: Seven Practices for Living Well from the Ancient Practice of Making Challah, at The Strand Columbus. Register here.
Check out all of our GOLDA events here, and get in touch at [email protected] to bring our signature GOLDA programming to your community.
Arielle Nir’s Rosh Hashanah menu date-braised short ribs, roast chicken with stuffed eggplants, and Persian green rice deluxe.
Troye Sivan’s explanation of his fragrance brand’s Yiddish name—Tsu Lange Yor—on Las Culturistas. (Shoutout to reader Lorin for sending this my way.)
From the podcast: Diana shouted out The Shabbat Effect by Alan Morinis, Esther and I are excited about Looks Perfect by Jessica Siskin, and also check out Gabby’s 40-book Jewish reading list for last Rosh Hashanah.
I shared my Rosh Hashanah hosting tips with Goldie Home, alongside some of my favorite Jewish women.
In the spirit of the Simchat Torah Challenge, reply and tell me what you’re going to take on this year. I’ll share the responses in an upcoming newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for weekly Jewish learning in 5787 at simchattorahchallenge.org/golda.
Stay GOLDA,
Stephanie
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