This week we celebrate Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of Elul, the month that leads up to Rosh Hashanah. In four weeks we will stand before G-d in judgment, and we will ask for a good year. One of the central prayers of the day makes abundantly clear the fact that on this day, at the beginning of the New Year, our fate is determined: “Who will live and who will die? Who in their time, and who in an untimely (young?) manner? Who (will die this year) by fire and who by water? … Like the shepherd whose flock pass beneath His staff, (G-d) passes His sheep (us) beneath his rod (club?)…” more

Among the handful of world leaders who could always be relied upon to support the United States unstintingly, the name of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, stands out. Blair energetically advocated for American engagement and warned of the negative global consequences of an America in retreat. In April 1999, at the height of the NATO operation against the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo by Serbian forces, Blair, in a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, said: “We cannot turn our backs on conflicts and the violations of human rights in other countries if we want to be secure.” more

On the last night of the cruise to Alaska my wife and I enjoyed last week, we stayed in and watched the movie Spiderman that was playing on my cabin TV. Watching the movie, it occurred to me that Spiderman’s boss, Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, is a perfect example of what I always imagined a manager to be when I was growing up: a gruff, cigar chomping, get the job done without caring whose feelings were hurt, type of guy. more

I can still hear the blast ringing in my ears, still hear the screams of the wounded, and still see the horrible images of that terrible afternoon. I still get a lump in my throat when thinking of Chana Nechenberg, a young wife and mother who has been in a coma these past ten years, or of Malki Roth, a 15 year girl full of so much life who is still, ten years later, a 15 year old girl, because she never reached her 16th birthday. more

The Jewish calendar, the luach, is among the most popular works of our faith. Within its covers can be found just about any and all laws that are time bound and time honored thus enabling us to effectively observe ritual and rite in the correct manner. In a recent Dvar Torah (words of Torah) on Parashat Re’ei, Rabbi Berel Wein noted the historic importance of the luach with the following observations: “The calendar has always been central to Jewish life and survival. Under the dark regime of Stalin, Soviet Jewry was forbidden from owning or possessing a Jewish calendar. more

“If you listen to God, He will keep his covenant with you. He will love you, He will bless you…” (7:13) And what does He want of you? “To walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve” Him. (10:12) After all, “God desired to love your forefathers, and He chose their children” (10:15) to be His nation, to whom He gave His Torah and has asked of them filial devotion. He models this kind of love through “loving the stranger” (10:18), an expectation He commands and demands of you as well (10:19). more

Last month, my daughter’s car lease was up. So we began researching cars that were safe, reasonably priced and of course “cool.” In my days, we drove whatever car was available. In 1980, I was thrilled to get the 1970 Bonneville that belonged to my uncle Morris, a”h. That car was the size of a small yacht. I think it had more room inside than some Manhattan apartments. It got me to where I had to go and I was thankful for it. more

Mazel Tov! After much anticipation, at 4:24pm in London on July 22, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth. The Royal bundle is an 8lbs. 6oz. son, future King — and perhaps a real Jewish Prince. For those of you who haven’t heard, according to lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kate’s mother, Carol, is the daughter of Ronald and Dorothy Goldsmith (whose parents, he claims, were also Jews). The Jewish line may thicken with hubby Wills. more

The Jewish people are finally, after 40 long years, making ready to enter the land of Israel. Most of the generation that left Egypt is gone, buried in unmarked graves in the desert, and their children, the second generation, born free in the desert, are preparing at last to cross the Jordan and enter the land. There will be no more manna from heaven, and no heavenly clouds or pillars of fire to guard them on their journey; they will have to fight, and even die, for the right to call this small piece of land their home. more

Weiner and Spitzer. Enough said. Will New Yorkers elect “Carlos Danger” as Mayor? Considering how quickly the scandal-tarred Anthony Weiner rose in the polls, before this week’s revelations, we shouldn’t discount it. And Eliot Spitzer as Comptroller? Also possible. There’s a thought afloat that “character” doesn’t count, that instead, we should weight a candidate’s “competence” when voting. Yet both character and competence count. more