I noticed the jeep in the distance almost immediately, raising a dust column you could see for miles. We were on maneuvers in the Negev desert, and there wasn’t anything else around but us, so we knew immediately the jeep had to be headed our way. Twenty minutes later the jeep pulled up and a man with colonel’s oak-leaves on his shoulders got out. Our commander jumped down for a hurried conference. We were happy for the brief respite; I was in the middle of tank commander’s course, and any break from the grind was always welcome. more

Mar. 22 Chabad of the Five Towns On Friday, March 22 at 8 p.m., pre-Passover family Shabbat dinner. Adults $25, children 2-11, $18. For reservations call (516) 295-2478 or go online at www.chabad5towns.com more

Crunch time! You know, the time when you figured you would basically be done with 90% of your Pesach preparations, and in reality you’ve just hit the 25% mark. Really, why is it we think this year is going to be different from last year or the year before? I think we should get credit for thinking we could be finished at this point. more

Sometimes I really miss the political process in my birth country, the United States. more

The seder is modeled as an educational tool par excellence, geared towards the kids. A necessary component is the question-answer format. But this very much depends on the motive behind the questions; is the questioner really searching for answers, or is he merely cynical, having decided his opinion earlier on….Only through honest questioning and searching for truth can one truly grow and thus be free, as evidenced by Natan Sharansky`s closing speech at his trial…. more

Overheard from a second grade rebbe: “If I don’t load the kids up with Pesach preparation, parents think they haven’t learned anything all year.” I don’t know if that is a truism across the board, if many parents think that way, or if just a minority take the Pesach prep as a reflection of the entire school year. But I think such a notion is antithetical to what Pesach is all about. We are doing it all backwards. more

In reading former Israeli Defense and Foreign Minister Moshe Arens’ latest work, “Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto” [Gefen Publishing, 2011] and interviewing him this past summer 2012 in Jerusalem, I was given the opportunity to become more fully acquainted with the decisive leadership role that Rabbi Menachem Ziemba played in the uprising against the Nazis 70 years ago this coming Passover. more

Dear Editor I hope you will consider printing yet another letter regarding the sale of the number 6 school. By the time this letter is printed the vote on the sale will have been taken and so this letter is not for or against the sale to the Simone Group and Mt. Sinai. Rather I am writing about the School Boards decision to recommend the sale of the building to Mt. Sinai and to put it to the community for a vote. more

Last Wednesday, I headed to the nation’s capital for the annual trip to CPAC 2013, the Conservative Political Action Committee’s annual conference. more

As we put this issue of The Jewish Star to bed, we look forward to the much anticipated chag of Pesach. I actually have the pre-Pesach mindset starting from Chanukah, when I stop buying pasta and cereal (how does the closet get so full of chametz?) more