Change Set on Chaplains The Jewish Welfare Board is set to lose its monopoly on authorizing Jewish military chaplains, according to a news report in the New Jersey Jewish Standard. According to the report, the military plans to open up the process to other non-profit organizations. Critics claim that the JWB has failed to meet…
Instead of heading out to a local hangout or his Upper West Side bachelor pad after a hard day’s work, Joseph Weilgus would rather don his polka-dot clown suit, apply face paint and take the subway to the pediatric unit at Harlem Hospital for the evening. A double life seems to suit the 26–year old….
BROOKLYN —Even before the hearing opened here into the distribution of unclaimed funds from the $1.25 billion Swiss bank settlement, a confrontation erupted. A group of elderly men stood outside the courthouse with signs around their necks that said “Mathausen” and “Dachau,” in English and Russian. An older woman approached them and asked, in fluent…
When Michael Stamler, 23, goes to the gym, he’s got a lot of tapes to choose from to get himself in the mood. “Perl,” for example. Or, if “Perl” doesn’t quite get his juices flowing, he can turn to “Viener.” If “Viener” doesn’t get him pumped, Stamler can always listen to “Krohn.” “Perl,” “Viener” and…
TEL AVIV — Following his drubbing in a Likud party referendum of his own devising — widely seen as the worst political blunder ever by an Israeli leader — Prime Minister Sharon was struggling this week to find a way of staving off the demise of his disengagement initiative and, some said, of his career….
Curled up on a friend’s couch, mug of tea in hand, 36-year-old Nancy Vineberg dished about the joys and trials of parenthood one recent Sunday afternoon. Nearby, her 3-year-old, Noa, played exuberantly under the supervision of a friend while Vineberg enjoyed a rare uninterrupted chat. Like most parents of young children, Vineberg is used to…
Orthodox Jewish women experience a relatively high level of frequent sexual activity, but low levels of emotional and physical satisfaction, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in New York. The study was based on anonymous, self-administered questionnaires filled out by 382 Orthodox women in the…
THE WONDERS OF AMERICA These days, they’re packin’ them in at New York’s Minskoff Theater, where audiences throng to see the latest revival of that evergreen musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” I had the good fortune to be among them recently when I took my class of Princeton University undergraduates to see the play. For…
Moshe Dworkin, a devotee of Jewish culture and a board member of myriad Jewish organizations, died last week in a nursing home in Belmont, Mass. at the age of 68. He had been suffering for two years from complications from a stroke. Involved in media — both as a professional and a volunteer — Dworkin…
My text is Leviticus 23:19, “And for a sin offering you shall sacrifice one male goat.” A sin offering was needed to atone for an unintended violation of ritual practice. Even though it was unintended, such a violation of norms creates a tear, a rip, in the social fabric that has to be repaired by…
A convicted sex offender in Los Angeles has used an assumed name to market himself as a rabbi and Kabbalah instructor. Michael Ozair, who pleaded no contest to oral copulation of a 14-year-old girl in 2002, had until earlier this week been advertising himself as Rabbi Michael Ezra, the “Kabbalah Coach.” The KabbalahCoach.com Web site,…
