Archive
Compiled of 304,805 letters, 42 lines on each page, and parchment sewn together, a Torah is born (Chabad). But what if that Torah could be created and shipped to you in a matter of minutes. Enter the Kindle. With four weeks into school, I’ve seen JanSport backpacks look lighter, and paperbacks become obsolete. Inevitably, Amazon’s […]
I found myself feeling immersed in the Holocaust this morning. That’s not as morbid as it sounds- let me explain. The program for which I work is sending a delegation of their students to Poland immediately after Succot. Being as we live in Israel and Israel is a Jewish state, the entire country has vacation […]
“So, you’re Jewish?” I’m yanked out of my sleepy haze, completely unprepared for such a question. It’s two in the morning on my second night of college and I’m curled up on the couch chatting with my suite-mates. “I’m sorry, what?” I ask. “You’re Jewish, right?” “Yeah.” I say matter-of-factly. “Cool! So are you a […]
Woody Allen on rabbis and post-kung pao desserts: “To me, there’s no real difference between a fortune teller or a fortune cookie and any of the organized religions.” [Forward Schmooze] Actually, given what our religion says about rape, maybe it is better to eat the cookie. (Scroll down to “Shabbat in BA”) [Married With Backpacks] […]
The AEPi fraternity house at the University of Washington is the scene for a new musical written and produced by Jewish college students from Seattle. Jacob Bloom and Leeran Raphaely, second year students at UW, came up with the idea and co-wrote the script. Their respective talents complement each other. Raphaely has been playing piano […]
Atoning my sins in Amman, Jordan was certainly very different than my past Yom Kippurs. I did not buy a new outfit for services; I did not have plans for breaking the fast. Instead, I observed Yom Kippur without anyone else in my presence even knowing it. Jerusalem is roughly 45 miles away from Amman, […]
It’s a little late for all you coffee drinkers this year, but for next year’s Day of Atonement, check out this novel solution to the other problem of Yom Kippur: a maddening desire for caffeine. [Village Voice] And if your coffee comes from Venezuela, feel good. Hugo Chavez: “We respect and love the Jewish people. [Boston Globe] […]
Jews in Rosh Hashanah on Aleksander Gierymski’s picture “Święto trąbek I” Confession: I’m writing this on Sunday. It won’t be posted until Monday, but sometimes I feel particularly motivated, and I write these things. Why am I writing now? Because Yom Kippur is still on my mind, as big days in the Jewish calendar often […]
The following thought is in part a development of a marvelous sermon given on the “Shabbat of Repentance,” by Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center. All weaknesses are my own. As I write these words, traditional Jews are sitting down at their tables and eating of fine linens for the “seuda mafseket”: the […]
If the Maya thought the world was going to end in 2012, some Jews seem to have a different opinion for the next few years ahead of us. One kabbalist rabbi says that G-d will “erase China from the world this year.” Why China, rather than Israel’s traditional antagonists? Possibly because China is an emergent […]