This week’s book, “The Accidental Zionist” by Rabbi Ian Pear (New Song Publishers, 2008) is an informal, somewhat irreverent book, zany at times about subjects that are dead …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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5/15/24
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Rikki Ash (pictured) has always known her beloved grandfather was a special person. She knew that he had lived a life of purpose and made every day count. In her new …
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By Jodi Green
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5/8/24
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The Pesach Seder may be the most observed family ritual on the Jewish calendar. Accordingly, many books deal with Pesach observances, and I’ve referenced several in recent columns.
This …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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4/17/24
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A few years after publishing “Ten Times Chai: 180 Orthodox Synagogues of New York City,” featuring 613 photos of the interiors of existing Orthodox synagogues in the five boroughs, …
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4/10/24
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W ith the onset of Pesach, I find the study of the historical and philosophical side of our religious tradition to be of great inspiration in getting myself into the “holiday mood.” Thus, …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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4/10/24
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Here we are, on the cusp of the holiday of Pesach that in every manner of theme and observance surely defines us as a people.
To help us prepare to respond to our children who may questions the …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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4/3/24
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Purim is now behind us and the next time we are going to witness a full moon is exactly one month from now, Pesach. With that exciting thought in mind, I was taken by an essay by Dr. Adele Berlin in …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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3/27/24
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Rabbi Daniel Rose wrote the following that will serve as the keynote to this week’s essay:
“These days of Purim,” the Book of Esther says, “should be remembered and …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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3/20/24
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Perhaps the two most popular literary works on the Jewish calendar are the Megillah and the Haggadah. Here are two unusual commentaries that pull together ancient pshat and drash in a modern lingo …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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3/13/24
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Editor’s note: With life in Russia increasingly under the gun, and with its Jews again in the crosshairs, we revisit this column from 2013.
How ironic that a published history of the …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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3/6/24
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