Coming of Age
The assumption that every Jewish adult has had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration is presumptuous. The assumption that every Jewish adult (other than a convert) has become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is…
Flowers and Poems
The tradition of Mother's Day flowers began with Anna Jarvis, the woman who successfully petitioned Woodrow Wilson to make it into an official holiday (which he did in 1914). To honor her…
Thoughts on Shevat
Although the Torah implies that Abraham and his descendants are removed from the fate of the stars (based on Genesis 15:5, Nedarim 32a) - meaning that their personal destinies are not…
Happy Birthday to Moses
To write a biography of Moses in under 300 words would be impossible. From the moment he was born, his life was filled with incredible events. But today is the seventh of Adar, and the…
B’Sha’a Tova
“Mazal Tov!” This Jewish expression has, without question, crossed the societal divide and is a well-known phrase throughout the western world. And while many popular entertainers and…
Nimrod
The great military villains have usually been brilliant, determined and, it is often suggested, megalomanic. In which case they are very much the spiritual descendants of Nimrod. Nimrod,…
Sponsoring Columbus
Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon are, without question, the most famous monarchs in Spanish history. They were the sponsors of Christopher Columbus’ famous journey…
Golem
The story of the Golem of Prague is one of the best-known, fantastic and romantic Eastern European tales. It has been retold in both prose and play-form and is perpetuated in the oral…
Nu, Don’t Eat
A popular joke: Most Jewish holidays can be subsumed under the pithy phrase: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!” For a nation obsessed with food, what’s with all the fasting?…
Scapegoat
The Jewish people have often been cast as the proverbial “scapegoat.” When millions died during the Black Plague, the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells. Blood libels accusing…