This past week, I catered a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner for 48 for a producer from California who was in town for her son’s wedding, finalized a few party proposals, filled a few cake orders, cooked for my mom, and tried to shop for a dress to wear to a dinner. Turns out shopping was the hardest item on my list. more

During the second Intifada, after a wave of violence broke out in Israel, our unit was called up for nearly forty days as part of an emergency draft order. It is difficult to describe how challenging it is to be completely uprooted from your life, literally overnight, with no idea of how long you will be needed, or when you will be able to get back to the routine of job and family. It was more than a challenge; it was often overwhelming. more

In the Torah, the city Beer Sheva appears thus named only one time (26:33). Otherwise it is always called Beer Shava. Seforno notes the difference between the vowelization of the two names of the city, while Ibn Ezra offers that when it is called Beer Sheva it might be for two reasons (based on an oath and the number seven) or, perhaps, it is a different (though similarly named) city. more

This week, as Jews across the world celebrate Chanukah, they also remember the victory of the Maccabees against the brutal rule of Antiochus IV, designated “Harasha” (“the wicked”) by rabbinic tradition. Antiochus’s main aim was to Hellenize the Jews in the ancient land of Israel by forcing them to adopt Greek customs in place of Jewish ones. more

Norway’s Health Ministry is considering a proposal to regulate the circumcision of boys. Some political parties are calling for a complete ban of the practice on minors.Two years ago, the ministry was tasked with reviewing circumcision and how it should be practiced in Norway. It has yet to finalize its stance, but it promises a proposed bill by Easter 2014, Health Minister Bent Hoie told Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper. more

Last week, my husband Jerry underwent some minor oral surgery. The surgeon advised that he eat a decent amount before since he wouldn’t really be able to chew much afterwards. By the time he got to her office he was stuffed and it reminded him of the time his first son was born, on the last day of Chanukah in December 1981. more

The current flurry of diplomatic endeavors on both the Palestinian (what or who is a “Palestinian”?) and Iranian fronts leave one wondering: how do hundreds of millions of Muslims continue to deny what is so obviously historical fact — that an ancient Jewish State exists in what is today the State of Israel? This question is not limited to any one particular ethnicity, religion or theology. How do hundreds of thousands of people still believe the Holocaust never happened? And how are there still people in the world who believe that Stalin was a savior to the poor people of the world? more

Book collectors often have many books on their shelves that never move from their place. But sometimes it is the thin volume you never look at that contains gems of insight and wisdom. In recent years I have found this to be true of a book I purchased when I was in yeshiva. The author is Yeshayahu Moleyoff (not sure how that is spelled in English), and it is one volume on Bereshit (I don’t even know if he has more) called “Meotzarot Bereshit.” more

The essays by Rabbi Moshe Sokolow and Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik cited in last week’s essay prompted great interest, especially in the Bible commentary by Henry Ainsworth referenced by them. This prompted me to research this matter further and to bring to your attention a work written and published three years ago by British historian, Nick Bunker, entitled, “Making Haste From Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World” [Vintage Books, 2010]. more

How bad is the deal that the Obama Administration made with Iran? It is so bad that leading Senate Democrats have attacked it. Within hours of the announcement that an agreement was made, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said he was “disappointed” by the pact and opined that Iran won more from the deal’s loosening of economic sanctions than the international community gained by slowing down the country’s nuclear program. more