Edmon J. Rodman
By Edmon J. Rodman
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News Why Is This Fourth of July Different From All The Others?
(JTA) — On this holiday weekend, due to a confluence of special days — Independence Day, the 17th of Tammuz and Shabbat — American Jews will have the opportunity to both celebrate our religious freedom and retrace what we did when it was threatened. The 17th of Tammuz, a little-known fast day, commemorates the breach…
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Opinion On MLK Day, Recalling My Brush With KKK
David Sookne, front left, and Bruce Hartford, third from right, register voters in 1965 / Courtesy (JTA) — Since the nationwide release of “Selma” a week before the national holiday commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I have wondered about the extent of Jewish participation in the civil rights movement. Was it just the Selma…
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Opinion Who Needs Halloween When We’ve Got Shabbat?
Universal Studios Hollywood (JTA) — Halloween this year falls on Shabbat. On a Friday night, trick-or-treaters, even Jewish ones, will be knocking. Should we open the door? Or should we be spooked about joining the celebration? After reading that on Oct. 31, Urban Adama, a Jewish-oriented educational farm and community center in Berkeley, Calif., would be…
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Opinion How Do We Celebrate When July 4 Is Shabbat?
Getty Images (JTA) — Part “God Bless America,” part “Shabbat Shalom,” the Fourth of July this year falls on a Friday. In this land of religious freedom, how do we plan to observe both? As the sun sets over the “fruited plain,” will we be lighting Shabbat candles and fireworks? How will the Sabbath Queen…
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Opinion After ‘Selma,’ Asking How Many of Us in ‘We Shall Overcome’
How big of a “We” were the Jews in “We shall overcome”? Since the nationwide release of “Selma” a week before the national holiday commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I have wondered about the extent of Jewish participation in the civil rights movement. Was it just the Selma marches? Was our support also…
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The Schmooze Yom HaTax Day — Rules for Observance, Bloch by Bloch
How Jewish is tax time? It’s not like there’s a special feast or fast to commemorate it. Yet, there is a principle in the Talmud that discuses your obligation to pay. Considering the coast to coast presence of H & R Block, America’s approach to tax time is pretty Jewish. Ponder this as you shlep…
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News Chai Designs For Less
Many of us grew up in homes where there was little or no Jewish art. It seemed kitschy, or people were simply not ready to go wall-to-wall Chagall. Today, however, we are looking with fresh eyes at Jewish art and, when the price is right, schlepping some of it home. But many Jews, especially younger…
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Israel News Life on the Kibitz
A book about talking should seem as natural as moving your jaw, especially for a Jewish audience: people who love to comment, question and, yes, complain. Daniel Menaker’s new book, “A Good Talk — The story and Skill of Conversation” (Twelve, 2010, $20), a nicely framed approach to the art of conversation utilizing digression, humor,…
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