This truly is a remarkable photo in which we can thank God for the lights of Hanukkah as well as for the safe return of the captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
I work as the rabbi at a Jewish summer camp. We have eighty campers from Israel join us each summer. Many of these young campers, like most Israelis, are not familiar with liberal, alternative forms of religious expression in Judaism. In Israel, Judaism is black and white. You either do it or you don’t –…
I saw this one coming. I originally blogged last week about the decision by the NHL’s Florida Panthers to give out yarmulkes (kippahs) to the fans at its Hanukkah game this past Tuesday night. One of the team’s representatives left a comment on my blog explaining that not every fan in attendance at the game would…
The #1 question during Hanukkah is: What is the correct way to spell the name of this holiday? Since it’s a Hebrew word that is transliterated into English, there are several acceptable spellings. But people still want to know if there is a consensus. A non-profit theater company in California, the North Coast Repertory Theatre, even performed…
Once again The Jewish Week asked me to try and summarize the last year in technology from a Jewish angle. This was not an easy task since technology is increasingly so much a part of our lives and it affects all areas of our world including religion. I decided to come up with the ten…
It’s only February and already two of the influential teachers in my life have passed away. In January, my childhood rabbi (Rabbi Efry Spectre) passed away, and yesterday I learned that Rabbi Moshe Tutnauer died. I first met “King Tut,” as he was known, in 1996 when I was working at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in…
I’m sure many people have long wondered where to get the best tasting soofganiyot (jelly donuts) in Jerusalem. Finally, one man has taken up this challenge. That man is Avery Robinson (pictured at left with my son at a Detroit Pistons game in 2005). Avery, a Detroit native and Frankel JAMD graduate, is in Israel…