In the Basic Judaism class tonight we talked about our last two sessions, which were off the beaten track of the curriculum, since we tried to address some of the current issues at play in war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. One session we looked at maps of the conflict from the British […]
Before I turn 46 next month, I figured I better read George Orwell’s Coming Up for Air this month.
What a great writer, proven over and over again.
Ominous, hilarious, wildly descriptive of a romantic and long-gone childhood. A textured verbal comfort for the move closer to fifty than forty.
No romanticizing. Just as honest […]
(memorial stones left on a grave in New Jersey)
This was one of those weekends that define the work one does.
I’m reminded of a conversation I had in college with my mentor the late, great George Mosse.
It went like this:
Me: “What should I do with my life?”
GLM: “Find work connected to what you love […]
According to the Jerusalem Talmud, the four cups of wine, ordained to be served at the Passover Seder each year, correspond directly to what the tradition refers to as the Four Acts of Redemption in God’s promise to Moses before the Exodus: “I am the Eternal and I will BRING you out from under […]
It’s very rare when you can see a city change before your eyes but that’s Washington, DC for you these days.
I exited my train from NYC at 7 am on Wednesday, into Union Station for a transfer to the Metro that would deliver me to the National Cathedral for President Obama’s National Prayer Service, a […]
When I walk along the cold and snow filled New York streets, late at night with my dog Nathan, I can sometimes almost bring back to life my father and grandparents.
The crisp air, resurrecting; the bare trees, silhouetted against a night sky; Wisconsin winters roar into my mind, quieting these sidewalks of Brooklyn […]
Elissa Gootman of the New York Times covered the approved proposal for a Hebrew language charter school, supported by the philanthropist Michael Steinhardt and the lead proponent, his daughter Sara Berman.
The idea is an interesting one and Anthony Weiss of the Forward picked it up (carried by Haaretz as well.) The Forward’s editorial page […]
As Barack Obama prepares to be inaugurated this coming Tuesday as the 44th President of the United States, I will be in Brooklyn, hooking up a live feed of the Inauguration so the staff of CBE can watch this historic event via internet feed. We meet as a staff on Tuesdays and so will […]
Yesterday I had the honor of being a guest at Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City address on the Brooklyn College campus. Despite the freezing weather, ten students greeted people across from the entrance, lamenting budget cuts in education and Israel’s incursion in Gaza. People didn’t seem to “pay no mind.” There […]
Our teach-in tonight at CBE went well. There was a diverse crowd of members and community friends and the topics presented a range of opportunities for people to engage on a variety of levels.
Rabbi Dan Bronstein dealt with the ethics and morality of war; Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein dealt with the range of Israeli […]