My “association” with Helen Thomas began on a Friday, just over three years ago when my friend Rabbi David Nesenoff (who would subsequently become publisher of The Jewish Star) sent me a video, which contained a short explosive interview he had conducted with the veteran White House correspondent. In it, Thomas gave a statement that many people saw as telling the Jews to go face another Holocaust. more

Remember when buying a cup of coffee meant … buying a cup of coffee. Sure you had a choice of what type, regular or decaf; skim or regular milk; sugar or sugar substitute, and hot or iced. Then came the flavored coffee creamers, followed by flavored coffees. You could have made it at home, or bought it at a luncheonette, candy shop or coffee shop, which was basically a mini restaurant that served breakfast and lunch along with coffee. Today, coffee is no longer just coffee. more

This week’s portion, Re’eh, begins with Moshe’s dramatic presentation of the blessings and the curses, which seem at first glance to be all about the rewards and punishments that await us when we enter the land of Israel, just across the Jordan river: “Re’eh anochi noten lifneichem hayom brachah u’klalah…“See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. more

There are six remembrances that are included in the siddur at the end of Shacharis. Remembering the Exodus, Shabbos, G-d’s presence at Mt. Sinai, what happened to Miriam, how you provoked G-d in the desert, and to destroy Amalek. This list does not include all the times the word zachor (to remember) appears in the Torah. more

After calling the ruling an atrocity on his MSNBC program, Al Sharpton wants the federal government to act. “There are grounds for civil rights charges here,” he said on Meet the Press, adding, “There would never have been protests if there had been an arrest and if the police department there did what it was supposed to do.” Despite Reverend Al’s protestations, local police did do their job. After examining all the evidence, police believed Zimmerman’s story. more

There’s a “new” star author on the scene named Robert Galbraith. The writer, who the publisher, Little Brown, described as “a former plainclothes Royal Military Police investigator who had left in 2003 to work in the civilian security industry,” debuted with a detective novel about the suicide of a supermodel called “The Cuckoo’s Calling.” more

Among the most consistent liturgical works on the Jewish calendar is the twice daily recitation of Psalm 27, beginning next week, heralding the upcoming high holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Succos. more

With Tisha B’Av now safely behind us, can Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur be not too far ahead? The High Holiday season will occur on the cusp of Labor Day weekend, one of the earliest such seasonal placements in memory. Due to this scheduling oddity, I have deemed this a major factor in the early consideration of the literary aspects that play an important part in the observance of these holidays. more

Article on Rabbi sparks memories To the Editor: Your article about Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Leib Schwartzblatt, a mashgiach at the JASA kosher kitchen in Far Rockaway, brought back memories [“From Holocaust’s ruins, a life of learning and teaching,” July 5]. The Rabbi Shulman, to whom he referred, who asked him to take on the position of mashgiach, was my late husband, Rabbi Nahum Shulman, a”h. For 20 years Rabbi Shulman was the Rabbi of Congregation Bais Tefila, the shul that served the JASA residents. In addition to serving as spiritual leader of the congregation, Rabbi Shulman was the Rav Hamachshir for the kosher kitchen, JASA’s large food program. Rabbi Shulman’s appointment of Rabbi Schwartzblatt as mashgiach was an inspired decision. Rabbi Schwartzblatt has brought a unique personal history and Torah learning to his position. My family and I wish him continued good health and fulfillment in all that he does. — Mrs. Anita Shulman more

With the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, one is almost forced to question whether the global Islamist movement has been dealt a mortal blow. more