Holidays
Musings on Yom Ha’Atzmaut
Pin It It’s hard for me to imagine; my mother-in-law was born into a world in which Israel did not exist. For two entire years of her life, there was... Read More »
Israel Hits 60!
Pin It Tonight, celebrations for the 60th birthday of the State of Israel commenced with a torch lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem and will continue tomorrow with many... Read More »
Frivolous Holocaust Analogies, Update
Pin It On the eve of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) I feel it necessary to keep up the crusade against those who resort to petty, simplistic Holocaust comparisons in... Read More »
On The Brink, And Just Barely Being Held Back….And By What?
Pin It The first sociological experiment was done by a French Jew named Emile Durkheim. Durkheim wanted to prove that the one thing that everyone was SURE was psychological was... Read More »
It’s Official: Israel Bombed Syrian Nuclear Reactor
Pin It US officials just confirmed what has already been widely reported since it happened in September: that Israel bombed a Syrian nuclear reactor which was being built with help... Read More »
FreeTheSoldier – Gone Viral
Pin It A few days ago, I noticed a posting by a friend on Facebook about a free download for the United Jewish Communities (UJC): FreeTheSoldiers. Just as in years... Read More »
The Limits of Freedom
Pin It At the Seder we ask a myriad of questions. We are fortunate to have answers for most of our questions. One question however, has two seemingly contradictory answers.... Read More »
Dvar Torah Fodder for the Seders
Pin It Most people who read this website are probably also scurrying to clean their houses for Passover (leaven be gone!) and searching high and low for divrei torah for... Read More »
Matzah and the Boston Marathon
Pin It Every year on Patriots Day, a Massachusetts holiday celebrating the start of the Revolutionary War in Concord, thousands of people run the Boston Marathon. While not as famous... Read More »
The Geek Guide to Kosher Machines
Pin It I just stumbled on a Wired article from November of 2004 which profiles Jonah Ottensoser, an engineer for the Star-K. “A retired helicopter engineer who is himself Orthodox,... Read More »
If Purim Were Today OR: Purim in 2008
Pin It If Purim Were Today A Spiel by (some of) the 4th Grade Students of the Congregation Beth El Religious School in Bethesda, Maryland President Achashverosh – Vice President... Read More »
The ABC’s of Kosher Wine F-K : So You Like It Cheap
Pin It So maybe you’re not looking for a wine that requires you to open it a half hour before you drink it. Maybe you just want something cheap and... Read More »
Being a Heretic, or, How to Disagree With the Talmud
Pin It This is the third in a series of articles promoting the idea that people should feel free to come up with their own ways of interpreting biblical verses... Read More »
Esther vs. Kermit: Is it Easy Being Green?
Pin It It’s not Easy Being Green (Lyrics : Joe Raposo) (sung by Kermit) It’s not that easy bein’ green; Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.... Read More »
Tu’Bishvat 2008
Pin It As I look out the window and see the blustering snow and watch the cold wind it is apparent that winter is upon us. No one would even... Read More »
Broader Judaism in Preparation for Martin Luther King Day II
Pin It Rabbi Capers Funnye leads his congregation at Beth Shalom Bnai Zaken in Chicago, Il, where his synagogue has been in existence since 1918. Except for a few members,... Read More »
Broader Judaism in Preparation for Martin Luther King Day
Pin It Last night, in Chevy Chase, MD, there was an event in honor of Martin Luther King Day co-sponsored by the NAACP and the JCRC. Y-Love, the African American... Read More »
Questions from the Non Jews
Pin It As vice president of the Touro Law JLSA (Jewish Law Students Association), it is my duty to plan events around the holidays, or even just for the education... Read More »
The Greatest Jewish Ballplayer Ever
Pin It Imagine this – it’s Game One of the World Series. The most dominating left-handed pitcher of the last 50 years is getting ready to take the mound for... Read More »
