Cross-posted to the Jewish Techs blog at The Jewish Week Ynet News is reporting that the Israeli prime minister’s emissary to the negotiations for a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas to return the captive Gilad Shalit said “it’s not over yet. The deal reached is pretty complicated, but the most difficult part is behind us.”…
The following was published on the HuffingtonPost and on several Patch.com sites before the Rosh Hashanah holiday: At no time during my experience in a New York City rabbinical school did I think I would ever be donning full beekeeper regalia and watching as thousands of bees made honey on a farm in Michigan’s Amish…
After the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a cave in Qumran in the winter of 1946–47 by Muhammed edh-Dhib, a Bedouin boy, and his cousin, it still took two decades until they were placed on display in a museum. Now, about 65 years after their discovery they can now be accessed online. Today, the…
Here’s my recent article for JTA.orgThe most well-circulated piece of trivia about Gene Simmons, former member of the band KISS, is that he was born in Haifa, Israel. For years Simmons’ birthplace and Israeli heritage were rumored to be true, but in the Digital Age it would be confirmed with Wikipedia and video interviews on…
One of my favorite places to go in Jerusalem is Yad LaKashish (Lifeline for the Old). It is a wonderful organization that truly honors the elderly of Israel while also providing a special experience for tour groups. Rosh Hashanah this year marks Yad LaKashish’s 50th anniversary. It is truly remarkable how this tzedakah (charity) project…
Last week, the Zionist Organization of America issued a press release expressing its shock that President Barack Obama omitted Israel in his list of countries suffering from terrorist attacks. ZOA was appalled by the omission. The Obama Administration released the President’s talking points for the forthcoming tenth anniversary of 9/11 and while the speech included…
For generations, fundraising efforts for the Jewish National Fund have centered around dropping loose change into little blue metal boxes. In fact, stories abound regarding the millions of dollars sent to the JNF from Hebrew School children to plant forests and make the dessert bloom in Israel during the first decades of statehood. Apparently, the…
A few years ago I was on my way to pick up my son from the Jewish Community Center, where he was in day care. Just a mile from the JCC I had to pull over to allow fire engines and police cars pass. I didn’t think too much of the blaring sirens and flashing…
Hebrew, Hebrew, I Speak Hebrew As a child, one of my favorite songs was a silly song that taught new Hebrew words using English puns (“Etz a nice tree! How do you say ‘tree’ in Hebrew? Etz!). The refrain is “Ivrit, Ivrit, Ivrit Daber Ivrit” (Hebrew, Hebrew, Speak Hebrew). This song was a staple at…
I first read the reports last month that Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied had named their newborn son Alef. There was no confirmation of the name from Portman so I didn’t blog about it. Now, it appears that more news sources are picking up on this rumor. Israel Hayom first raised the possibility that Natalie…