With the upcoming Fast of Tisha B’Av, it is appropriate to note the recent publication of a biography and historical analysis of one of the great prophets of our faith, Jeremiah, whose teachings are the featured prophetic readings that morning and whose scroll, Eichah (Lamentations) is the centerpiece reading the previous evening at the start of the fast. more

When I first heard the Muslim Brotherhood claim the interim Egyptian President Adli Mansour was Jewish, I was shocked and angry. How the heck did they figure it out? That was one of the closest held secrets of the World-Wide-Jewish-Conspiracy! That announcement came on top of the news that the Government of Turkey blamed their anti-Islamist protests on the Jews. That one wasn’t a leak; it was a stupid mistake. The guy we sent in to run the protests forgot where he was for a second and tried to organize a Havah Nagilah circle dance (Shlomo will not be allowed out by himself for a while). more

In the Midrash Rabba’s introduction to Megillat Eichah (paragraph 4), Rabbi Abahu compares the experience of the nation of Israel in the land and being exiled to the experience of the first identified man in the Torah, Adam. “Like Adam, they violated the covenant.” Adam was placed in the garden, was commanded, he violated the command, was judged, expelled, and G-d lamented over his downfall. Israel had the same experience: brought into Israel, commanded, they violated the command, they were judged and expelled. G-d lamented over their downfall. more

Jewish crime-fighting volunteers in London met over the weekend with Muslim leaders and agreed to patrol mosques and other Islamic buildings to reduce anti-Muslim hate crimes. more

BERLIN — Here in Berlin, there is a simultaneous sense of urgency and growing patience. While Germans embrace the cultural history of the Jewish people, who they persecuted during the Holocaust, they are seeking additional forums through which they can break down barriers to dialogue with Jews in their communities today. more

Leonard Nimoy says there is a “strong strain of Judaism” in everything he does — including his famous on-screen hand gestures. Best known for his character Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” television show and movies, most recently in his cameo as Spock Prime in this year’s blockbuster “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Nimoy’s Vulcan hand gesture comes from an experience he had at synagogue when he was eight years old. more

So, it was the last day before the Nine Days. You know what that means: Last day to swim, do your laundry and, of course, stuff yourself silly with meat, because for the next nine days you can’t. You can eat it on Shabbat and, of course, if you make a siyum. more

When Naomi Nachman took her radio show, “Table for Two,” on the road last week, webcasting live from Gourmet Glatt in Cedarhurst, it was just the latest of an expanding list of foody adventures for Woodmere’s “Aussie Gourmet.” more

This week’s Torah portion, Devarim, which opens the fifth book of the Torah of the same name, finds Moshe beginning his tragic farewell speech to the Jewish people: “Eileh Ha’Devarim Asher Diber Moshe El Kol Yisrael Be’Ever Ha’Yarden….” “These are the words which Moshe spoke to the entire Jewish people on the other side of the Jordan…” (Devarim 1:1) more

In his letter to the editor [“The president, not Dunetz view, changed,” July 5], Michael Brenner asked. “One wonders: Did Jeff Dunetz change his mind, or is it just that the party in the White House changed?” If Mr. Brenner had read my article more closely he might have noticed this paragraph where I talked about my change of opinion: more