(This Op Ed first appeared in the MetroWest Daily News on September 29th. 2024, it is available here) On Wednesday evening, the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins. For Jews around the world this marks the beginning of the new year. Normally we prepare for this holiday with a sense of excitement and joy. While Continue Reading »
(This article first appeared in the Fall/Rosh Hashanah issue of Shalom Magazine) When we approach the secular New Year alongside countdowns, parties, and the ball drop the major way that we mark the transition is through the making of resolutions. These can have varying levels of success, although they often do not prove to be Continue Reading »
April 3rd I am handing over the blog today, to share my wife Micol’s reflections on our visit to Thereisenstadt. She says it beautifully: “My eyes and my heart are heavy. Yesterday we traveled to Terezin, known as its German name Teresienstadt by many. Terezin, a fortress city built in 1780 about 30 miles north Continue Reading »
This past weekend we showed our children the movie the Wizard of Oz for the first time. We had been a little concerned about how they might react to a wicked witch and evil flying monkeys. But, we shouldn’t have been worried. First of all, they loved the movie; the songs, story, and performances definitely Continue Reading »
When a swastika is drawn in our town, in our community, we have to decide how we are going to respond. And there really are two choices: you either ignore it, or you act. And when we think about and study the history of antisemitism and racism, we know how often people choose to ignore Continue Reading »
In a country on the other side of the globe, two terrorists walked into a building and murdered 11 people. It was a hateful crime, which was immediately universally condemned. As a show of solidarity people began posting the country’s flag on their social media accounts, and there was even a slogan of camaraderie that Continue Reading »
What do you want to be? Some of us never get asked that question any more, while for the younger members of our community it’s a question that they are probably asked with quite some frequency. Had you asked me that question when I was a child then I would have answered with certainty that Continue Reading »
A few months ago I learned 3 important lessons … from a wheelbarrow. Hire someone or find a friend to help you when spreading a mountain of mulch. A cracked rib is really painful. And 3. Always listen to your wife. I had plans of spreading this mountain of mulch on my own, and over Continue Reading »
Tonight, we begin the commemoration of Tisha B’Av. This day is without a doubt the saddest on the Jewish calendar, as we remember the destruction of the first and second Temples. In recalling these tragic moments from Jewish history, one of the messages that we take from the day is not that our downfall came Continue Reading »
Originally published by Combined Jewish Philanthropies as a part of the Face Jewish Hate Campaign My dad’s mother was born in Berlin in 1923 and was one of the lucky ones who escaped before World War II began and the borders were closed. But she still lived through the introduction of a variety of anti-Jewish Continue Reading »