by Rabbi Avi Shafran Despite the late hour and exhaustion(not to mention wine),many a Jewish mind has wondered long and hard during a Passover Seder about all the Haggadah’s “fours.” Four questions, four sons, four expressions of redemption, four cups.There’s clearly a numerical theme here. While some may superficially dismiss the Haggadah as a mere […]
Archives for March 2010
Relationships Between Jews and Germans Today
By Miriam Zimmerman What happens when today’s Jews and Germans encounter each other face to face? What restraints cripple both parties in their attempts to communicate? Is there the proverbial elephant in the room that no one engages directly? Perhaps the different generations handle the awkwardness differently. What rights do contemporary Jews have to invoke […]
Moving Toward Vege-Veganism
By Mary Hofmann Eating Animals, by Jonathan SafranFoer, envisions a Passover without meatand provides compelling reasons why weshould consider moving toward becomingvegetarians/vegans in our scary newworld of factory “farming.” While Michael Pollan (Omnivore’sDilemma and Food Rules), Mark Bittman(Food Matters), Alan Weisman (The WorldWithout Us) and others aren’t as straightforwardin drawing parallels betweencurrent human behavior and […]
Yes, the Rabbanit (Rebbetzin, Rabbi’s Wife) Yemima, Not the Rabba
By Batya Medad I wasn’t quite sure what was acceptablerecently, so I only took a couple ofpictures after it was over, and only one iseven barely acceptable.You can see her inthe distance wearing a black hat. Strange for me, I have troubleremembering her points, even though Iwas mesmerized and listened to everyword. But I’m very […]