Entry Point
Although immigrants from around the world came through Ellis Island, the immigration station in the harbor of New York* had a distinctive impact specifically on Jews and on…
Carrying On Shabbat
The last of the 39 melachot* (creative works prohibited on Shabbat) is that of carrying between a private and a public space. How is carrying a creative work? The…
Thou Shalt Not Steal A Person
The Eighth Commandment, lo tignohv, do not steal, appears to be an obvious law. Every civil code prohibits theft. However, in both syntax and placement, the Eighth Commandment appears to…
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally the Night of Crystal but generally translated as the Night of Broken Glass, was a tragic turning point in the fate of Germany’s Jewish community. The country-wide…
It’s Not About The Status
In many, if not most, Jewish parables, the righteous and scholarly are often presented as living in a state of poverty. Indeed, it might often seem as if poverty is an attribute of…
Not For Pride
The sayings of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) often capture the ethic of the oral law. They not only offer an insight into the minds of the great rabbis of the Talmud, but provide…
It’s Not About The Status
In many, if not most, Jewish parables, the righteous and scholarly are often presented as living in a state of poverty. Indeed, it might often seem as if poverty is an attribute of…
Not To Be Mixed
Like oil and water, certain things are not meant to be mixed together. According to Jewish law, it is forbidden to mix-breed different species of cattle, sow one’s field with mixed seed,…
Curse You – Not!
In a perfect world, one would never feel such intense anger at another person that one would actually wish them harm. Alas, we do not live in a perfect world. When emotions run high, some…
It’s Not a Big Chicken
If there is one thing that is guaranteed to be in supermarkets in November, it’s turkey! In fact, many supermarkets even give them away to promote large purchases of other groceries. As…