Need for interfaith learning
Have you heard about the sacred text in which the Almighty says, “Stand back from this community so that I may annihilate them in an instant?” What about the king who gives permission to a people “to destroy, kill and…
Opinion
Sukkah more than symbolic
As we celebrate Sukkot this week, we’ll be thinking about many things – notably, how lucky the vast majority of us are to have a solid roof over our heads. For most of us, the sukkah is but a symbol…
Climate a Jewish issue
The World Health Organization has labeled climate change “the greatest threat to global health of the 21st century.” As a physician, it is difficult to ignore such a dramatic statement. Climate change is real. The sea levels are rising, temperatures…
Jewish routines help us cope
At 7 a.m., I came downstairs on a school morning and discovered that one of my 6-year-old twins was busy. He’d filled up a container with water so he could watch his expandable water toys grow – again. After the…
Merkel’s election win
Angela Merkel was returned for a fourth term as Germany’s chancellor on Sunday, defeating her main Social Democrat opponent, as well as a seemingly global surge toward populism. However, while she succeeded, her vote share declined – and the footnote…
Compassion needed
“… what the Lord doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah 6:8) Despite its solemnity, Yom Kippur is my favourite of the Jewish holidays. The ritual of…
Yiddishkeit – a story of love
Dear Yiddishkeit, I’m home! Did you miss me? Sorry I was away for so long. I got kind of lost in the desert. But I’m finally back, and living happily in … well, different places: at Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel,…
Trump-Bibi bromance
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left, with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York. (photo from Israel’s Government Press Office via Ashernet) A great deal of diplomacy depends on intangibles like whether the parties involved like or dislike each other. Israeli…
Inspiration from home
A young Israeli-American entrepreneur has invented an app that people – of any age – can use to find a hookup. No, it’s not for romantic hookups, although it does involve love, in a sense. Deevee Kashi invented Deed, an…
Being a young Jew in 2017
From the beginning, Jews have struggled to define ourselves within the societies we inhabit. Since the time of the Babylonian exile, we have carved out spaces in other peoples’ countries, walking the fine line between self-definition and belonging. We have…
