Dear Aviva, I’m pretty disappointed with a lot of people. I was raised in a Zionistic family, attended Zionist schools and have actually practiced what they all preached. I made aliyah two years ago after completing Shana Bet here in Israel. I’m here because I was taught that this is where a Jew belongs. I am making sacrifices to be here. None of my American teachers who’ve instilled these values in me have moved here, and my family has yet to emigrate. I’m happy to be living here, but at the same time I’m really mad at the hypocrisy that I was exposed to. more

A Cedarhurst family continues to run, picking up more family members in its expression of gratitude to Chai Lifeline. On Jan. 29, nursery school director Tova Plaut will be running for the fourth time in the ING Miami Marathon, joining some 200 runners on the Chai Lifeline team. “We have one of the largest teams in the marathon. It’s an incredible event,” Plaut said. more

As long as I can remember, I’ve always loved to be creative When I was younger and played with play dough, I didn’t just mold the dough into shapes of cakes and cookies; instead, I placed them on my kitchen window and my “bakery” was open for business. more

One unique liturgical feature of this holiday is the recitation within the Amidah, and Birkat Hamazon of Al Hanissim acknowledging the miracles of that long ago era, of history’s first open conflict , the struggle for freedom of religion between pagan domination and monotheism; Greek culture versus Judaism. more

Very few stories in the Torah are more tragic than the story of Joseph and his brothers. It begins, seemingly, with an innocent gift, a demonstration of a father’s love for his beloved child. But when Yaakov bestows the magnificent striped coat on his son Joseph, the ten brothers aren’t so filled with love. Favoritism, jealousy, behaviors far from ideal are brewing, resulting in a moment of tragedy 4,000 years ago that the Jewish people are still struggling to undo. more

A poignant Midrash in Ruth Rabba (5:6) argues that had Reuven, Aharon and Boaz known that certain minor kindnesses they performed would be recorded in the Bible for posterity, they might have done things differently. more

Newt Gingrich made headlines this week with his comment made on The Jewish Channel, “We have had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs,” His statement was criticized by fellow candidate Mitt Romney, by the Palestinians and by many in the mainstream media. more

Letters to the Editor more

On Dec. 8 at the White House, politics came to stand still for one brief, shining moment as a cross section of Jews from across the United States came to celebrate Chanukah and perhaps more than just that. I decided to share with The Jewish Star readership the extraordinary feeling of inclusion as I entered the South West gates of the White House. more

If someone had said to me that two weeks ago that I’d be speaking in shul on Shabbos, between mincha and maariv, I’d respond, “not a chance.” But as the years pass, day to day life continues to confirm the presence of Hashgacha Pratis (Divine Providence). more