Saturday’s paper carried a story about Mayor Bloomberg meeting with the city’s media giants to discuss whether or not they’d support his potential run for a third term, effectively overturning “term-limits,” which were last passed in 1993 and had the support of another giant, the philanthropist Ron Lauder.
I’m generally in favor–being a believer […]

I met Joe Biden on a trip to Jerusalem in 2005. It was just a few months after the elections; a number of American politicians were there to help monitor the Palestinian Authority elections–Jimmy Carter, John Kerry, and Joe Biden, among others.
We were staying at the King David Hotel and I’ll never […]

Rabbi David Saperstein, one of American Jewry’s most hard-working and effective leaders who has run the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism in Washington, DC, has the incredible honor of giving the invocation blessing at Barack Obama’s acceptance speech in Denver next Thursday.
What an incredible honor!
Congratulations, David! No one deserves this more than you!

Yesterday’s conversation about levels of observance in the synagogue as a bellweather for where we may be in the Reform movement provoked some good discussion, so let’s continue the conversation today.
The question of kashrut inside the synagogue is an excellent example to use, as Amanda points out. A communal decision about eating and the use […]

A message from Park Slope Hadassah on behalf of my Aunt Janet Altstein:
Dear Friends,
I know you are all used to being asked reach for your checkbooks for donations, but today I have a request that won’t cost you a penny.
Janet Altstein, from our Chapter, is going into Sloan-Kettering for transfusions tomorrow. She will […]

There is a harshness and an inspiration to this week’s Torah portion, V’etchanan (Deuteronomy 3.23-7.11). Here Moses continues his review narrative for the people, clearly aware of his own impending death and equally aware (perhaps with more remorse than the end of his life) that he will not merit entering the Holy Land. […]

Thanks to Matt for offering his Dylan tickets to Rachel and me last night. It was my second chance to see the legend and Rachel’s first.

Nate Chinen’s review in today’s Times is an accurate portrayal of things, right on down to shooting his six shooters at the crowd. Vintage Dylan, who we kept […]

David Brooks writes a really interesting article about China’s collectivist society in contrast with the individualism of American society and what it may say about the next several decades of the 21st century.
In “Harmony and the Dream” in today’s Times, Brooks writes “Researchers argue about why certain cultures have become more individualistic than others. Some […]

CBE member, active Yachad parent, and regular Shabbat Torah student Cathy Burns is the new Mother Nature for the 21st century in this new Tampax ad.
Enjoy!

The Jew Crew!

Mazel tov to the US Olympic Relay Team for their Gold Medal in the 400 M Relay. Both Garrett Weber-Gale and Jason Lezak are M.O.T.
Here’s a nice interview with Milwaukee native Weber-Gale, who credits his two local heroes as Brett Favre and Rabbi Ron Shapiro of Temple Shalom in Fox Point, WI. […]