For most of the 20th century, Hebrew teachers dutifully taught pupils that the Hebrew alphabet had two “silent letters,” aleph and ayin. While this may be true of Modern Hebrew, both letters were pronounced in Biblical Hebrew. Eastern European Jews continued to pronounce the ayin until at least the 1700s. Ayin and aleph are still […]
Say Kaddish over your dead computer
January 26, 2012 by
By Ted Robert She was getting old. You could tell her passion was waning even though she was only 22 years old. Two out of three times when I clicked on her button she wouldn’t turn on. Well, she turned a dusky orange, but not that inviting – “here’s your mail” green that I had […]
A Zealot is a Zealot
January 17, 2012 by
By Jim Shipley In 1951, the Longshoreman / philosopher Eric Hoffer published The True Believer where he postulated that all extreme philosophies and movements were pretty much the same. Whether called Communism, Fascism, militant Islam or the Settler Movement, their tactics, extremism and lack of common sense are pretty much the same. Hoffer said “a […]
Fun vanen heybt zach aun ah libeh? (How does a love affair begin?
April 21, 2011 by
April 2013 Mein libeh haut zach aun gehaben ahz ich haub zich gehlerent zein ah nurse. (My love affair started while I was a student nurse at Mt. Sinai (Jewish) Hospital in Chicago.) Mein shziger iz geven krank in hauspehtal un ich fleg err bauden un iber biten deh kleyder. Ich fleg redden Yiddish mit […]
What’s with the fours?
March 24, 2010 by
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 […]
Relationships Between Jews and Germans Today
March 24, 2010 by
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
March 24, 2010 by
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
March 24, 2010 by
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 […]
Rosh Hodesh: Finding strength one month at a time – by Amy Hirshberg Lederman
January 27, 2010 by
I listened to the phone message from Cindy and knew that something was wrong. I could hear it in her voice, even through the static on my answering machine. I called her back immediately and my worst fears were confirmed: Cindy had breast cancer We didn’t speak often because Cindy needed to conserve her energy […]
Wineries and an Artist’s Colony in the Golan Heights
December 18, 2009 by
How would you feel if you could swallow less than a tablespoon of something every day and know it would prevent heart disease and bad cholesterol, destroy cancer cells and even stop the development of cancer? If you are a diabetic, it would balance the level of insulin in the blood. A miracle drug? […]
