By Irwin Cohen
A few months ago I wrote about the passing of my brother-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Kunda, z”l, and how he never got around to a project I urged him to take on. I wanted him to title it "Boruch Goes to Ebbets Field" and tell the story of how Boruch bonds with Brooklyn's beloved Dodgers – with Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges and the rest. (The Duke was my brother-in-law's favorite.)
By Tzvi Fishman
On the arranged date, the Jews set out to survey the land which their Arab neighbors wanted to sell. The Muktar Abdulla graciously sent them a guide who showed them the way through the mountains to his village. Traveling on horseback, the journey up and down the hillsides and valleys took them two […]
A green bell pepper affectionately dubbed “Godzilla” by the children of Moshav Ein Yahav in the northern Arava desert has won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
By Sandy Eller
What may be the final chapter in a long standing debate between a real estate developer and a Manhattan synagogue has been written, as a New York State appellate court judge ruled in favor of developer Jack Braha, owner of the building, and denied the Sixteenth Street Synagogue's interim stay of eviction, enabling Braha to oust the synagogue from its home of 67 years.
By Sandy Eller
I am not one of those people who start cleaning for Pesach the minute the menorah gets put away and, in fact, I typically indulge in denial until the last possible moment. However, after making Pesach in my so-called Pesach kitchen for the first time, I realized just how useful a Pesach kitchen could be.
I have always been overwhelmed by the sense of responsibility the message of Har Sinai has placed upon women. The Midrash teaches that the Almighty asked Israel: “What can you give as an assurance that you will keep my covenant?”
And underneath there exists the same deep desire for connecting with others that all of us have. More desperate, perhaps, because the desire is trapped inside a mind that doesn't know how to reach out.
The family: My name is Rivka (Teitlebaum) Shech. I have 3 grown children and I’m divorced. Background: My parents, my sister and I came to Israel from Hungary in 1950. We entered at Haifa Port and were taken to the Bat Galim immigrant transit camp. I was 1½ years old at the time and my sister was 4.
John Bradford’s paintings span over 40 years of intensive exploration of the joys of the Biblical narrative. He has explicated its myriad passionate moments from almost every narrative in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers to stories from Nach such as Ruth and Naomi, David and Bathsheba and Mordechai and Esther.
I find travel difficult. I am not crazy about flying, to say the least, and I am most happy and comfortable staying close to hearth and home. On the other hand, my husband, Lou, has an astounding amount of boyish curiosity and an unending desire to see new places.
There is a wise Yiddish saying that translates into this observation: "Yichus (illustrious ancestors) is like potatoes - they are both under the ground."
Dear Dr. Respler: The letter from the husband lamenting his family’s difficulties brought on by his wife’s physical impairments (“For Better Or Worse – Or Bailing Out,” 1-11) brings back memories of my experience. I was the wife who one day found herself physically incapacitated and unable to do the simplest acts.
My relationship with social media is and remains an ambivalent one. Unlike many of my peers, I did not initially embrace social media, from its beginning stages with AOL instant messenger and proceeding quickly on to MySpace and Facebook.
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli has purchased a swank Tel Aviv apartment for her 26 year-old brother, Dor, according to a report by Globes online business magazine.
In honor of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim, gay news site Queerty is encouraging LGBT Jews to buy a new book featuring a Jewish boy with two fathers, the first of its kind to bring Judaism, children, and homosexuality together.
Though the permissibility of watching hired sports players go to battle in a large stadium is a source of controversy amongst Torah observant Jews, the food being served at the upcoming Super Bowl games in New Orleans is not.
Yossi’s mother was at her wit’s end. Yossi’s grey pants were wet again. It was the second time that week.
In February 1861, Abraham Kohn, one of the founders of Chicago’s Congregation Kehilath Anshe Maariv and at the time the city clerk in the administration of Mayor John Wentworth, presented Abraham Lincoln with a unique American flag.
Dr. Elias Konwufine, a native of Africa, came to The United States with his wife, Francisca, earned doctorates and went on to become an associate dean at Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale. Education was his passion and he loved his work. He was respected and loved by family, colleagues and students.
The Young Israel of Bal Harbor, located at 9592 Harding Avenue in Surfside, will present an incredible Scholar in Residence Weekend with internationally acclaimed scholar, historian and speaker Rabbi Berel Wein on February 1 -2, Shabbos Yisro.
The Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy held its first Alef Hebrew Honor Society Ceremony on January 3. Twenty-five students were inducted. The Hebrew Honor Society recognizes outstanding achievements in the study of Hebrew language and literature and promotes an understanding and appreciation of the culture of Israel.
By Tzvi Fishman
The Jewish Colony Association had chosen the mountainous location not for its suitability as farmland, but because of its price. When more and more Jews began immigrating to Palestine, the Turkish government began doubling and tripling the cost of the land until parcels were often ten times more expensive than farmland in Europe. The Baron […]
By JTA
A panel of experts advised the Dutch government to return only one painting out of 189 claimed by relatives of a Holocaust-era art collector.
By Sandy Eller
It’s not every day that a chassidic singer, a guitarist and a drummer find themselves submerged in six feet of water.
In his best selling book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, Charles Duhigg argues that most of the choices we make may feel like products of well-considered decision making. In reality, they are not.
David and his wife had been married for 15 years and believed they knew what each other really wanted. While attending a marriage seminar on communication, David and his wife listened to the instructor declare, “It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.”
I feel so much shame about my disease and the pain I have caused my family and friends. I am trying to make things better now, and hopefully I will be able to beat this disease for good. As they say in the meetings: “One day at a time!”
By Raymond Zeitoune and Isaac Yedid
A will is a legal document that provides specific instructions as to how a person's assets should be distributed upon his or her death. This article will touch on a few reasons why it is important for everyone, young or old, wealthy or not, to write a will.
Dr. George Szapary, the Hungarian ambassador to the U.S., recently visited Los Angeles to discuss political, social and economic matters with that city’s leaders.
Eretz Yisrael, located at the junction of three continents, is the meeting place of diverse climates and vegetation zones – and home to over 2,500 plants! Obviously, it would be impossible to discuss them all in one article. However, in honor of Tu B’Shevat we will focus on some pre-spring and spring flowers.
Dear Dr. Yael: I have, Baruch Hashem, a beautiful family with children and several grandchildren. I am fortunate to be close with all of them. I also work and take care of my parents, like many others in the “sandwich generation.” While I love my life, I am constantly exhausted and overworked.
Tommy's eyes were fixed on the screen for the fourth hour that day. He sat there immobile, staring at the people fighting on the TV show. Unsurprisingly, the next day the principal called Tommy's mom - Tommy had beaten up two boys in his class that day.
By Tuli Wein
When the train has departed the station, Fresh of food and of saturation, The journey ahead excites, With all the could bes and the might's,
We asked our writers and contributors to share some of their favorite “fruit” recipes for Tu B’Shevat.
Rock music festival Lollapalooza, which was scheduled to take place August 20-22 at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, has been cancelled.
By JTA
A history of New York Jewry took Jewish book of the year honors in the 2012 National Jewish Book Awards.
By Tzvi Fishman
All of Tevye's life, it seemed like he was always saying good-bye. Back in the old country, what now seemed like lifetimes ago, his Hodel had left him for Perchik. Then Hava had run off with her gentile, and Shprintza had drowned. Then the heart and soul of his being, his devoted wife, Golda, had […]
Politics junkies and sports fans alike will enjoy the new up-to-the-minute poll updates being made available for this Tuesday’s Knesset elections.
By Estee Perl
The New York Muni-Meter system is a disaster! There are many issues that have presented themselves with this new idea and they need to be solved.
It’s history. You can’t deny it. The Holocaust. Just about the worst six years in Jewish history. The Nazis slaughtered our nation during its journey to world domination. Six million innocent people were murdered. We have evidence. We have witnesses. We have proof. So why are people denying it?
Judith Levy is a gorgeous French-born woman with a flair for fashion and the written word (she’s an editor for French editions of Artscroll). At the start of her second marriage she found herself in a shaitel vs. tichel predicament very similar to mine.
By Sandy Eller
Artisan gefilte fish. For some, the phrase seems like an oxymoron. While salmon, chilean sea bass and tilapia may all be in vogue, gefilte fish, the traditional ground fish mixture that is de rigueur in Ashkenazic Jewish households at Shabbos and Yom Tov meals, is like the Henny Youngman of fish: it gets no respect.
Bear Mountain State Park is situated in rugged mountains rising from the west bank of the Hudson River in Orange County and Rockland County, New York. The 5,067-acre (20.51 km) park offers lots of activities that can be enjoyed all year round.
You know what I noticed since I started writing this column? That people don’t write in to ask questions so much as they write in to complain.
Galut Mitzrayim -- the Egyptian Exile -- has come to epitomize exile in Judaism. It is the ultimate galut, the ultimate exile and it embraces all aspects of the later exiles: displacement, foreign subjugation, powerlessness, and exposure to extreme physical and mental torture.
It truly defies logic when I am told by a relative’s machataynesta that on her block in Brooklyn there are a dozen girls in their mid to late 20’s and even 30’s who are waiting in vain for the phone to ring.
Dear Dr. Yael: Your recent column on “The Wrongs Of Onas Devarim” (Dear Dr. Yael, 12-28-2012) was, for me, the worst column ever. Here’s why:
In the 1950’s, bestselling author Rudolf Flesch offered to give a friend’s son, who was a struggling reader, some help with reading. He soon discovered that the problem did not lie in the boy’s intelligence, but rather in the way that reading was taught to him in school. To set out his reading principles, Flesch wrote a now famous book entitled, Why Johnny Can’t Read – and What You Can Do About It. In it, Flesch outlined the basic approach of phonics, an effective and important manner of teaching reading.
I have been promising myself that I would write about the death of my twins when I was ready. Ever since that fateful day more than 11 years ago, I have tried to write, dozens of times, but my attempts have drawn many tears and very few words. I tried again very recently, but didn’t get very far. And then the school shooting in Newtown changed everything.
A raft washed up to the shore of a marina in south Florida recently. The rickety craft was fashioned from Styrofoam blocks. The posts were oars. The sail was a tarp. A hiker noticed the abandoned raft and reported it to authorities. It was feared that the occupants had perished in a fruitless effort to cross the waters from Cuba to the United States.
RASG Hebrew Academy held a community-wide Israel Awareness Day on December 25. The informative and meaningful event was held on the school’s main campus at 2400 Pine Tree Drive in Miami Beach.
The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is offering a six-session winter 2013 course called “Living With Integrity: Navigating Everyday Ethical Dilemmas.” The classes will begin at 7:30 p.m. January 29. Rabbi Ruvi New will lead the sessions at 120 NE 1st Avenue, in Boca Raton.
Cantor Avi Albrecht, a major figure in the cantorial world, will appear for Shabbat Shirah, January 25-26, at the Palm Beach Synagogue in Palm Beach together with the a cappella group Kol Fusion. The program is presented by the Palm Beach Synagogue and American Friends of Meir Panim.
Young Israel of Deerfield Beach, located at 202 Century Boulevard, will host a Holocaust remembrance program on January 20. The event will mark the anniversary of the infamous Wannsee Conference, which set into motion Hitler’s plan for the genocide of the entire Jewish population of Europe.
The Chaya Aydel Seminary (CAS) in Hallandale Beach is entering its 12th (bas mitzvah) year of excellence in education. CAS has become well known for its top-notch academics and beautiful frum environment.
More than 175 people attended a complimentary educational program called “Respect and Resilience: Foundations for a Healthy Marriage and Family.” In partnership with Ohel Children’s Home & Family Services and The Shul of Bal Harbour, the event was sponsored by Yehi Ohr, JCS’s new initiative expanding its commitment to the South Florida Orthodox Jewish community.
Donald Trump, world-famous billionaire businessman, has officially endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video posted to YouTube.
By Irwin Cohen
Last season the Philadelphia Phillies had a Rosenberg, the St. Louis Cardinals had a Rosenthal, and the Arizona Diamondbacks had a Goldschmidt.
The Jewish people have been blessed with a plethora of biographies and memoirs about our rabbis, educators, philanthropists and community leaders. Unfortunately, many that were published in previous generations have been lost to history, and the impacts that many noteworthy individuals had on our people have been largely forgotten.
Inspirational Torah leader Rabbi Shlomo Brevda, zt”l, passed away last Tuesday at the age of 81. Rabbi Brevda authored numerous books and traveled to many parts of the world delivering mussar and words of encouragement to people of all ages. He was well known for his research of the Vilna Gaon, publishing many of his writings.
So much has happened in the past few months and now the month of Shevat is suddenly upon us. And in a few days (Shevat 10) it will be your 13th yahrzeit.
Two major Japanese airlines grounded their Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes after one was forced to make an emergency landing due to battery problems and a burning smell in the cockpit.
By JTA
Hadassah transferred $10 million to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem to help cover its subsidiary's $50 million deficit.
By Tzvi Fishman
Not only was Tevye's family going to be together, they were going to be rich! The Baron's gift of 5000 francs would make them the new aristocrats of Palestine. But Tevye's daydreaming didn't last long. When he heard that Nachman was planning on returning the money, Tevye nearly fell out of the wagon. "I […]
With Medicare open enrollment season upon us right now (October 15th-December 7th) many seniors age 65+ are reviewing the many Medicare programs available to them. They have been inundated with marketing materials from the many health insurance companies out there to persuade them to sign up or to change their plans for the next year, effective starting January 1st 2013.
By Amy Dubitsky and Eva Yelloz
*Risa and Eli, a couple married for two years and in their twenties, were anxious to start a family, but found themselves unable to conceive. *Chana, engaged at 39, was worried that at her age it would be difficult to get pregnant. *Miriam, a widow, had three children from her first marriage. Ten years after her husband passed away, she remarried. She was now 37 and her new husband, *Avi was 40. They wanted a child of their own, but close to a year into their marriage, she had not become pregnant – what to do?
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a public health emergency on Saturday, in the wake of the worst flu outbreak in many years.
A Jewish couple from Toronto was found dead inside their Hallandale Beach, South Florida condo on Thursday night, with police investigating a double homicide.
By JTA
The Israeli former bodyguard of teen idol Justin Bieber reportedly sued the pop star for assault.
By dvora
Having said several kapitlach of Tehillim, I decided it was time to check out my surroundings. Here I was sitting in a posh heimishe dental office in Williamsburg, serenaded by soft music, and surrounded by proper reading material. Thanking Hashem one more time that it was my friend in the dental chair and not myself (such a loyal friend that I am), I decided to indulge in some reading. The first periodical that I picked up had an article that caught my eye and heart. It was entitled Orphans No More. I could not put it down!
By Anonymous
Taking the words from my mouth, Twisting them, stretching them, turning them round and round, Negating their true meaning, as it was meant to be heard, You hear what you want without really listening.
By Pnina Baim
The thing about work is that it isn’t fun. If it were, it would be called play. Most people grumble about going to work, and look forward to their time-off – especially when it is paid. And yet, polls show that most people, given the choice, would prefer to work. It’s when we get to the office that we begin to moan and groan. What’s the point in that? If we spend the majority of our waking hours at work, we might as well enjoy it! Here are some ways we can accomplish that.
The recent works of David Gelernter, artist, author and professor of computer science at Yale University, compel us to listen and really see. His statements in the gallery video are riveting and his images, especially the Kings of Israel series are revelatory. It is in the dialectic between these two distinct approaches that we can understand his insight into the past and be guided into a present appreciation of Jewish Art.
Jewish law prohibits carrying an object from a private domain to a public domain (or vice versa) or within a public domain on the Sabbath. One who intentionally carries, knowing the prohibition on the Sabbath is libel to the death penalty by a Jewish court. The creation of an eruv establishes, where possible, an extended private domain in which such carrying is permissible.
Avital walked into the test feeling great. She had studied the night before and she was sure to ace her grammar test. But, suddenly, when her teacher passed out the test paper, Avital found her palms sweating and her heart racing.
By dvora
One of today’s fastest growing new dietary trends is the proliferation of foods labeled “gluten free” on the shelves of supermarkets across the country.
By dvora
Chaim* was admired in yeshiva for his incredible diligence. His days were consumed with learning and he could be found in the Beis Midrash almost 24/7. For him, sleep was a waste of time. Great things were forecast for his future until neighbors found him lying in the middle of the street in Geula, hallucinating that he was Moshiach. Medications stopped his racing mind but made him feel like a zombie. He became depressed and shell of his former self. His parents thought they were acting responsibly when they had him hospitalized and then put in a hostel.
Dear Dr. Yael: A few years ago, our family went through a very traumatic period of time when my wife was diagnosed with a brain aneurism. She has suffered through so much pain and rehabilitation, and things have not returned to normal.
This excellent, delightful and lucid collection represents some of the best in academic research. Philological, lexicographical, linguistic, epigraphical, cultural, mythological, ritualistic, and historical knowledge are informed by virtuosity in comparative ancient Semitic languages. These erudite studies by the high-powered academic scholarship of Hayim Tawil – a professor of Hebrew languages and literature at Yeshiva University – shed light on Biblical Hebrew, the whole field of Ancient Near Eastern studies, medieval exegetical traditions, and the reception history of the Biblical text from antiquity to the present day.
I’ve always had an interest in the intersect between halacha, history, and archaeology. It is this interest that led me to research and write about the status of Purim in modern-day Israeli cities that are adjacent to ancient cities that had a wall around them in the days of Yehoshua Bin Nun. I concluded, in regards to Beit Shemesh at least, that there is much merit in observing a second day of Purim, on the 15th of Adar.
Chosen People Ministries, a Hebrew Christian missionary group, has spent $2.1 million to acquire a building and nearly $1 million more on renovations to construct an 11,000 square-foot missionary center in the heart of Flatbush. It will house a “synagogue,” sefer Torah, classrooms, and a dining hall – all with the intention of attracting the general Orthodox community and particularly unaffiliated local Jews and adults at risk from frum homes who have abandoned Yiddishkeit or are on the fringe.
The Orthodox Jewish Chaplaincy Board (OJCB) of Southern California recently held its Chanukah candle lighting program with Jewish inmates at Men’s Central Jail (MCJ), Twin Towers Correctional Facilities (TTCF) and Pitches Detention Center (PDC).