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Partly Cloudy Avoidable war becomes inevitable
The Fourth Hamas War, as this week’s conflagration may soon be called, comes as a surprise to no one. For the past six months, Hamas has been staging provocations and firing on Israeli …
gaza
The world must hold Hamas accountable
So, how was your day? In southern Israel early this week, thousands of families had to spend the night in bomb shelters, after Hamas terrorists in Gaza rained down more than 450 rockets in the space …
gaza
Hamas rockets and failed idea of two states
Does it really matter what started the shooting at the border between Israel and Hamas-run Gaza? To outward appearances, it looks like it was something of an accident when a routine security …
shoah
Kristallnacht 80 years on
The Five Towns commemorated the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, last Wednesday evening at Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi in Cedarhurst. Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, the …
shoah
In Baldwin, survivor recalls past to face future
For Werner Reich, the tragedy began in 1933, five years before Kristallnacht, when his father was stripped of his job and he was banned from going to school. “When Jews were deprived of …
security
The cost of synagogue safety
After a mass shooting in a heavily Jewish area shocked the nation, Rabbi Yakov Saacks felt like his Dix Hills congregation was at risk. So the rabbi installed 17 cameras on the shul’s …
disaster
Devastated California communities fight fire with light
Rabbis across California made clear their determination to help people in need while dealing with the ongoing devastation that uncontrollable blazes have brought to their …
five towns
Brafman teams with Dershowitz for JNF
Two Zionists from Brooklyn — one a prominent Lawrence-based criminal defense attorney, the other a renowned constitutional scholar — came to Congregation Beth Shalom on Sunday to help …
food
Discovered treasure! Egyptian golden potato soup
Egyptian Jews comprise one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. There have been waves of Jewish immigration to Egypt over centuries: Sephardic Jews arrived during the Inquisition, Ashkenazi …
food
The ultimate stuffed cabbage hack
My mother’s stuffed cabbage is one of my favorite dishes. She makes it with ground beef and rice, and simmers the stuffed cabbage leaves in a rich, savory tomato sauce. I could eat trays of …
opinion
A war without a winner
It is nice to see German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron hugging one another 100 years after the Great War. But we must not forget that between the end of that war and …
kosher kitchen
Do-ahead recipes for Thanksgiving
When I was very young, I always got excited when Thanksgiving came around. This was the most fun holiday. We got to eat turkey, all my cousins came over and my grandparents spent the whole day at our …
disaster
Torah scrolls are rescued
The spiritual leader of a Reform temple in Thousand Oaks, California, risked his life to save the Torah scrolls in his synagogue, snatching them before they were burned in one of two massive …
medal of freedom
5 things about Trump honoree Miriam Adelson
Miriam Adelson, best known for being married to one of the world’s richest men and leading benefactor of the Republican Party, Sheldon Adelson, was named as a Presidential …
food
Savor season with Libyan Jewish pumpkin spread
As much as Americans truly love pumpkin in autumn, we are sometimes guilty of typecasting this nutritious vegetable as sweet and forget that pumpkin has a savory side, too. Happily, Sephardic cuisine …
opinion
J Street’s fake numbers and impossible dream
More than three-fourths of American Jews want Israel to be reduced to just miles wide — narrower than Washington or the Bronx. How can that be? …
torah
Confronting our enemies: Thoughts for Vayetzei
And Yaakov went on his way, and angels of G-d met him. And Yaakov said when he saw them: ‘This is G-d’s camp.’ And he called the name of that place Machanaim” (Bereishit …
schools
HALB preps for the vote
schools
HAFTR Krinsky tournament
schools
HANC High stands with Pittsburgh
schools
SKA ‘Together with Pittsburgh’
This week in Torah
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Erecting ladders that will take us to heaven
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Confronting our enemies: Thoughts for Vayetzei
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Tears make us uniquely human
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Lavan’s peace: being left alone
When Yaakov first arrived in Haran, he encountered shepherds waiting at a well. It might have been the same well where his mother met Eliezer 97 years earlier. And if it was, things had certainly …
Kosher Bookworm
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Legacy of Kristallnacht is a message for all time
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After Pittsburgh, filling the world with light
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Anatomy of a genocide
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New RCA siddur traffics in prayers from heart
Recently the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), together with Koren Publishers, released a new prayer book titled Siddur Avodat Halev, the third time the RCA has published a siddur under its …
Who's in the Kitchen
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Murphy’s laws
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The trials of Spirit Air
Two weeks ago, Jerry’s daughter Jordana (yes, we each have a daughter named Jordana) gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Adel Mattel Sara (Mattel was Jerry’s mom’s name). When the …
Kosher Kitchen
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Buckwheat or kasha? Either way, it’s delicious
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Viva Italia! Meatballs for chilly fall weather
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Advancing toward Biblical vegetarianism
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Do-ahead recipes for Thanksgiving
When I was very young, I always got excited when Thanksgiving came around. This was the most fun holiday. We got to eat turkey, all my cousins came over and my grandparents spent the whole day at our …
View from Central Park
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Looking for the helpers
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Toxicity brews on the Gaza border
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A note from one who knew: ‘G-tt tzu dank. A day still alive is a day to be thankful for’
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A long, winding road: Honoring the right to vote
Whenever election season rolls around, especially Election Day itself, I get that feel-good democracy vibe. If I was making a “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things” list, I would add …
Viewpoint
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American Anti-Semitism is different
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Robert Faurisson: Shoah denier and his legacy
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WWI armistice’s link to Kristallnacht
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Bernard-Henri Lévy’s latest Jewish reflections
In the summer of 1993, I found myself at one of the most unsettling dinner engagements that I have yet experienced. I was a young journalist writing about the war in Bosnia, and a friend of mine in …
Politics to Go
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Bend the Arc does not speak in our name
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IAEA ignores continued Iran nuke development
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There was ‘Jewicide’ in the 2018 midterm vote
According to exit polls conducted by Pew Research Center and CNN, in last week’s midterm election, 79 percent of Jewish voters chose a Democratic candidate, and only 17 percent voted for …