Using language evocative of the dual Biblical narratives of Abraham’s journey and then the Israelite enslavement in Egypt, as well as the historical reality of Jewish immigration to America a century ago, JJ Goldberg, editor of the Forward, presents a strong editorial We Were Strangers in this weekend’s edition.
The Forward is best when […]
There is a quietly discussed phenomenon among certain figures in today’s “change culture” in the Jewish community: we’re tired of the talking and we want support for our actions.
Let me give you an example.
There are meetings that take place, conferences, consultations, retreats–you name it–and often times the purpose is to talk about what […]
As cynical as I like to be, at my core I’m an optimist.
So I look at Israel’s election today as painful and incredibly brave.
Let the haters of the world say what they will, but the majority of the Jewish state’s citizens are voting for peace. By my count as of this writing, based on […]
I recently finished paying off my student loans and when I called Sallie Mae to talk about one final detail, I was on the phone with someone in India. That would clearly not have been the case when my first loan, in 1981, helped cover tuition, room and board in Madison in 1981.
You don’t […]
When we produced the Brooklyn Jews Calendar, our basic vision was two-fold.
One, put out a “product” that celebrates the original creativity of Brooklyn-based American and Israeli artists.
Two, make it useful, meaning the “calendar” component. Even the most “far-flung” among us wants to know when Yom Kippur or Hanukah or Passover is; and, this was […]
Last night at a baby naming the following conversation took place.
Him: “Hi Rabbi. I’m the great uncle. My daughter is Jewish, married to a Catholic who tragically died of cancer. They have two daughters, twins. They’re 7 years old. My daughter can’t afford to send them to synagogue, they go […]
After learning in a brilliant study session yesterday about opening up Judaism and the Jewish tradition to non-Jews, through a deep analysis of the laws of conversion led by Rabbi David Ellenson, the President of Hebrew Union College, I boarded a very crowded 6 train at 53rd Street and transferred to an even more crowded […]
One classic eye-roller, for those of you who’ve ever spent any time in Israel hearing non-Israelis speak the Hebrew language, is listening for whether or not people try to speak with an Israeli accent. I’m in the minyan of those who just step aside and let the runaway train of their own Diaspora […]
I don’t remember if Senator Wellstone said it about Rabbi Saperstein or if Rabbi Saperstein said it about Senator Wellstone.
But the story, somewhat inaccurately, goes like this.
While in DC at the Senate Office Building for a meeting on Social Action and Reform Judaism some years back, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism had arranged […]
Today I was officially voted in as the new rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim of Brooklyn. Congregational by-laws require an election by at least a quorum of its members for such large, transitional issues as hiring a new rabbi. And so today, after hearing a thorough presentation on the rabbinic search process […]