The Kosher Bookworm
by Alan Jay Gerber
Issue of February 26, 2010/ 12 Adar 5770 The signature ritual of Purim is the reading of the Book of Esther that details the events that led to the …
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2/24/10
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At the prompting of one of our community's most respected leaders, Avrumy Zelmanovitz, my son, David, and I recently visited the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. This was a …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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6/24/15
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Mesorah Publications recently published a unique compilation of essays that originally appeared as overviews to an Artscroll English commentary to the Book of Bereishis, all authored by one of the …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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10/25/17
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“Nothing shakes up the kishkas as much as the confessions of Yom Kippur.
“So intrinsic are they to Yom Kippur that they are supposed to appear in every service — ten times in all, which is thought to correspond to the ten times the high priest invoked the Tetragrammaton in confessing for himself, his household, and the whole people on Yom Kippur.”
So teaches us, Rabbi Reuven Kimmelman in a recent essay entitled, “Confession and Its Discontents” [“Sin and Confession in Judaism” Jewish Lights, 2012].
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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9/12/13
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A chapter titled “The Menorah Wars” is at the center of a comprehensive history of the Chabad movement in the United States, “The Secret of Chabad: Inside the world’s most …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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12/27/16
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Among the wisest takes on the very nature of the Purim holiday was that by Rabbi Zechariah Fendel of blessed memory who stated in the introduction to his book, “Purim: Season of Miracles” …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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2/14/18
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This week's essay dealing with Liberty, Freedom and Jerusalem, is dedicated to the 150th yahrtzeit of Abraham Lincoln, on the 19th of Nissan, the 5th day of Pesach.
In a recent essay, "The …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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3/31/15
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Among American Jewry’s premier biographers, Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff’s name stands out as one of the most scholarly, accurate and honest in both intent and content.
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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11/23/11
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Shock and tragedy. Those are the first two of so many words that follow when looking back at the murder of four rabbis on the 25th day of Cheshvan 5775: Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, Rabbi …
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By Alan Jay Gerber
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12/31/14
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The Kosher Bookworm
By Alan Jay Gerber
Issue of October 22/ 14 Cheshvan 5771
Once more we come to that time of year when our minds and hearts are drawn back to an era when evil came forth …
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10/21/10
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