General/Prime Minister Sharon
Ariel “Arik” Sharon served with unusual distinction and considerable controversy both in a military uniform and as a politician. Sharon’s life of accomplishment was punctuated by his…
Keep it Fair: Ox and Donkey
“Fair” is a word we hear very often. From our earliest years, human beings have a seemingly innate desire for things to be, or at least appear to be, fair. When children use the word, it…
Irish in Fairbanks
In 1910, while visiting her family in her native town of Dublin, Jessie Spiro was introduced to her second cousin, Robert Bloom. He was eight years her senior and had spent the last…
Shabbat in the Spring
As spring takes hold of the northern hemisphere, and the hours between sunrise and sunset lengthen, people often spend the long Shabbat afternoon enjoying the outdoors. Even as one soaks…
Rain, Rain…
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day...” This cute ditty must have been written in a northern country–someplace like England–where they have the luxury of wishing rain away. In…
The Original Employee Discount
Those who work in retail are often compensated with a special employee discount on goods sold in the store. In the days before retail, when the majority of the population worked in…
Shabbat In The Spring
As spring takes hold of the northern hemisphere, and the hours between sunrise and sunset lengthen, people often spend the long Shabbat afternoon enjoying the outdoors. Even as one soaks…
Rain, Rain…
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day...” This cute ditty must have been written in a northern country–someplace like England–where they have the luxury of wishing rain away. In…
Take A Sabbatical
It is interesting that the two most common professions which offer sabbatical leaves are academia and clergy. These two professions are fields in which practitioners devote a great deal…
This Land Is Our Land
“Rabbi Simeon ben Yochai said: ‘Three things are weighed equally, and they are earth, humans and rain.’ Rabbi Levi bar Hiyyata said: ‘... to teach you that without earth there would be no…