The Coming Storm Part V: Final Thoughts
Some years ago, I was introduced to a young woman through some mutual friends. She was a lovely person and had a lot of questions for me — I was […]
“Kosher” Halloween Costumes
This year, Halloween (the formerly pagan and now American version of Purim, without the awesome we-survived-an-attempted-genocide-and-now-we-eat-triangular-cookies back story) falls at the end of the Jewish holiday season. Some folks like […]
‘Rutka’ Sings Defiantly at an Unjust World
“I am writing this as if nothing has happened, as if I’m in an army experienced in cruelty. But I’m young. I’m 14, and I haven’t seen much in my […]
14-year-old Shoah victim’s diary inspires world premiere musical at Cincy Playhouse
In 2006, Yad Vashem published a diary in which 14-year-old Rutka Laskier, a Polish Jew, wrote about her life for four months in 1943, until her deportation and murder in […]
The Coming Storm Part IV: Maiy Nafka Mina? (What Are We Going to Do About It?)
One of my favorite Talmudic phrases, maiy nafka mina, literally means, “what comes out of it,” a sort of rabbinic, “So what?” For a study of antisemitism in this moment, […]
Former Adath Israel High Holidays Cantor Offers $100,000 for Live Hostages
Daniel Birnbaum, former CEO of SodaStream and High Holiday Hazzan at Adath Israel synagogue for much of the late 1990s and early aughts, is offering $100,000 in cash or bitcoin […]
A Rabbinic Reflection on the Death of Yahya Sinwar
I was a high schooler in Jerusalem when the father of mass terrorism against my people, Yassar Arafat, died. His death brought me messy emotions: Satisfaction that this agent of […]
The Diversity of Occasions In Judaism Provides a Breath of Fresh Air
Of all the Jewish holidays, Kol Nidre services are by far the most popularly attended in most communities around North America. There is something especially grand and awe-inspiring about the […]
The Coming Storm Part III: Preparing for the Moment Ahead
As one of my former colleagues is wont to say, “antisemitism is the one remaining bipartisan issue.” Sadly, folks from across the political spectrum use most of these antisemitic tropes, […]
Israeli Street Food in the Sukkah
With the solemn holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur behind us, it’s time to start planning the celebration of Sukkot – Z’man Simchatenu – Time of our Rejoicing. This […]