6 Words On The Jewish Life (Why Not More?)

What makes a good Six-Word Memoir? After reading more than 500,000 and publishing five books of Six-Word Memoirs, the short answer is passion. We're passionate about how we define our lives, our love, our work-and, of course, our religious life (or lack thereof). With the Jewish holidays approaching-and the repetitive sound of my own mother saying, "Are you coming home for the holidays this year!"-the Six-Word Memoir project has been seeking Six Words on the Jewish Life.

From identity and mother issues (see above), unfettered love of kugel to inner conflict over Israel, and the sheer joy of discussing and debating... everything, we all have a bit of the Jewish life within us. We've gathered up some of our favorites Jewish-themed Six Worders in the accompany slideshow, and hope you'll share your own in the comments area.

Of course, there's a larger story behind most Six-Word Memoirs, which is why we've created a series of live events in which storytellers offer six-minute "backstories" about their six words. On September 21 at NYC's 92YTribeca, we're holding a Six-Word Memoir Story Show, "Oy! Only Six? Why Not More?" --Six Words on the Jewish life. There you can hear more than six words from a terrific cast of storytellers including Walter Mosley, Deborah Copaken Kogan, Lance Rubin, Rachel Sklar, Lynn Harris, Nick Blaemire, Zev Borow, and Anthony Giglio, who will detail just why his nonna wanted to be reincarnated as a bird or a Jew.

The show ends with an open audience story slam--so show up with your own six words and enjoy at least six seconds of fame (maybe more). Details and tickets at the 92YTribeca. To read more Six-Word Memoirs on other topic you can imagine, check out the Six-Word Memoir project on SMITH Magazine.