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News
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2004: A Year of Scars and Stars
‘American Jews,” wrote the late novelist Ilona Karmel, “have scars, but no wounds.” The year just past, 2004, was a year to prove that point. We experienced some pain and anxiety, but as usual, we were surprised at year’s end to find ourselves as safe as ever. Indeed, it might best be called a “year…
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Waters Rage. We Are Afraid.
Catastrophe strikes each of us differently. The wise among us withhold judgment on our fellows’ first responses, knowing there is no right pathway through grief. (Those who lack such insight tend to end up in politics or the clergy.) And how do the grieving respond? Some lash out angrily. Some babble foolishly. Some sink into…
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Oy, gevalt!
William Lasser writes from the political science department of Clemson University to ask where the expression “Oy, gevalt!” comes from. This is a reasonable question, because the literal meaning of the Yiddish word gevalt (or gevald, as it is sometimes spelled) does not explain the expression. “Oy, gevalt!” (or just plain “Gevalt!”) has the sense…
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Leaders Fear Probe Will Force Pro-Israel Lobby To File as ‘Foreign Agent’; Israeli Envoy’s Bid To Head U.S. Group Torpedoed
WASHINGTON — As the Department of Justice intensifies its investigation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Jewish communal leaders fear that the goal of the probe is to compel the powerful lobbying organization to register as a “foreign agent” representing the government of another country. Widely regarded as one of the most influential organizations…
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Mixing Up The Spritz
Like Chinese food and pickles, seltzer –– an effervescent spirit that has inspired dreams of cures for such diverse ailments as scurvy and indigestion –– is often associated with Jews. An ad for an at-home seltzer maker touts its product as part of the history of Jewish ingenuity: “Matzo, circa 1440 B.C. — Chicken Soup,…
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Tipplers in Exile After Refusenik’s Synagogue Visit
In a story bringing together dissidents of all stripes — rabbinic, refusenik and sybaritic — a spirited band of synagogue-goers finds itself out of favor, following a recent visit by Natan Sharansky. A onetime Soviet dissident and the current Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Sharansky spent the Sabbath beginning December 3 at the Hebrew Institute…
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My Grandmother Between Life and Death
Here is how the Talmud describes the life span of a man: At five years the age is reached for the study of Bible, at ten for the study of Mishnah, at thirteen for the fulfillment of the commandments, at fifteen for the study of Talmud, at eighteen for marriage, at twenty for seeking a…
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Death Ends Football Star’s Effort To Tackle Hebrew
PHILADELPHIA — During his days in the National Football League, Reggie White was listed at 6 foot 5 inches and 300 pounds. But if you asked anyone who ever played against him, they would tell you that he played even bigger, that he might have been the greatest gridiron warrior to line up on the…
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Two Events Honor Israel’s Contributions
Larry King, master of ceremonies at the December 7 American Friends of Rabin Medical Center dinner, alternately amused and dismayed the 500 guests at The Pierre with such zingers as “Remember, Catholics, we gave you your Lord!” and, “People look at me.… They look at her.… They look at me.… If she dies — she…
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Updated Blood Libel Hits Mideast Papers, Airwaves
In what seems like a creepy Islamist twist on a Hollywood horror movie, Israel and America are being accused of stealing body parts from defenseless Arab Muslims. The charges, made in a newspaper article and in an unrelated television series airing in Iran, appear to underscore the vanishing distinction in the eyes of Islamic extremists…
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DER YIDDISH-VINKL December 31, 2004
Hanukkah is ever old and ever new — as the following poem by Alef Katz testifies when he reminds us of events 2,000 years ago and their meaning for Jews today. It is in the light of this everlasting tradition that Der Vinkl now runs the third in a series of poems that appeared in…
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