The Paralympics’ Jewish Roots
The competitive spirit of this year’s Summer Games in London did not end with the Closing Ceremony. From August 29 - September 9, 2012, thousands of athletes with physical disabilities…
Opening England
Menashe ben Israel (Manoel Dias Soeiro, 1604 -1657), whose family fled Portugal after the Lisbon auto-de-fe of 1603, was raised in Amsterdam where he received a full Jewish education and…
A Fashion Statement
In Numbers 15:38, God commands the Jewish people to “make themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations.” Additionally, it is written in Deuteronomy…
First On The Court
Born in 1856, in Louisville, Kentucky, Louis Dembitz Brandeis was the child of European immigrants who maintained a minimal Jewish identity. However, his maternal uncle, Lewis Dembitz,…
The Feast of Weeks
Shavuot, which we begin celebrating Saturday night (May 26th), is the only holiday in the Torah not listed by the date on which it is to be observed. Rather, the Torah teaches that this…
Religious Recycling
Organized recycling is a development of the modern world, and from the current understanding of the concept, is not discussed in the Talmud. After all, in the era when the sages were…
Rabbi Eliezer Silver
Historians have noted the seemingly underwhelming response of the American Jewish community to the Holocaust as it unfolded in Europe. Among the few who were prominent activists was Rabbi…
Hardened Hearts of a Leader
Upon the recent death of North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il, the press rehashed what is known about the repressive regime, certainly causing many to wonder how any leader could cause such harm to…
About The In-Laws
An often stated comment by parents of newly married children is that they have “gained a son or a daughter.” And while much has been written about the commandment to honor one’s mother…
The Rabbi’s Mountain
Few rabbis have been honored with having a mountain named for them. But, tucked away in the Laurentian range of Quebec, Canada, stands Mont le Rabbi-Stern (Mount Rabbi Stern). This 2,250…