Say It with Satire
Politicians - love them or hate them, they have been inescapable over the last several months. There are many ways to stay on top of the latest political news, but perhaps the most…
The Challenge of Fitting
The weekly Torah reading of Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17), which almost always coincides with Chanukah, tells the story of the rise of Joseph, the son of Jacob, from slave to…
The Jews of Ecuador
While Ecuador does not have a large Jewish population, (there are fewer than 400 active members of the community), its history mirrors that of many South American and Central American…
Chastisement with Love
“Reprove a wise man, and he will love you” (Proverbs 9:8). Not too many people respond to criticism with increased affection. Even when it comes from someone whom they know has the best…
Everyone Does The Wave
One of the main mitzvot of the holiday of Sukkot is the waving of the four species: citron (etrog), palm, myrtle and willow. Trying to understand this mitzvah metaphorically, our sages…
Athlete and Architect
When Arnold Guttmann was 13 years old, his father drowned in the Danube River, and Arnold decided that he needed to learn how to swim. Six years later, after changing his name to Alfred…
Green Cheesecake at Midnight
The holiday of Shavuot has three well-known, and well-loved, customs: Decorating our Homes and Synagogues with Plants and Flowers: According to the Midrash, at the time of the…
A Different Set of Loaves
There are several well-known connections between the holiday of Passover and the holiday of Shavuot. The most obvious of these is that the celebration of Shavuot is dependent on the count…
Helping Others
How well do you know your neighbors? One of the most common comments about society today is how much more isolated people are from one another than they were in the days of a more…
In Honor of World Health Day
World Health Day, which is sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), is an annual event held on April 7th, the anniversary of the founding of the WHO in 1948. A sub-agency of the…