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Mysterious Characters
I once heard gay mystery novelist Michael Nava say that he found that some of his most devoted fans were straight, and they read his work because they love to see the world through a different perspective. It turns out that readers of “crime fiction” — a British term for mysteries that is gaining popularity…
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VOICE RISES ABOVE DISORDER CALIFORNIA
Although she cannot read music and has trouble with simple everyday tasks, 48-year-old Gloria Lenhoff can play the accordion and sing with a perfect pitch in 30 languages. Lenhoff has Williams syndrome, a rare genetic condition that produces physical and cognitive abnormalities and an aptitude for music. The disorder is caused by the loss of…
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Get Thee to a Seminary!
Catching my eye on the front page of the June 10 International Herald Tribune was the following paragraph in an article on the Sharon government’s dismantling of “unauthorized outposts” in the territories: “The Bible says God gave us this country as the homeland for Jews — it is all Israel,” said Amichai Hadad, 22, a…
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Keeping Score In Babyville
We Jews are a competitive people. We are high achievers. We have major expectations for our children. And we’re invariably convinced that every one of our kids is spectacular, brilliant, extraordinary. As my father, a psychiatrist, likes to say, “Jewish children are all either gifted or ‘special needs.’ There are no average Jewish children.” Of…
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Russian Council Feud Heating Up After Kremlin Snub
MOSCOW — A three-year turf war for the soul of Russian Jews has heated up in recent days, as rival community councils — one espousing pluralism, the other dominated by Lubavitch chasidim — have taken their feud to new arenas including rabbinic recruitment and international diplomacy. The two groups, the Russian Jewish Congress and the…
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Orthodox Rabbis Strut Their Stuff at Fashion Show Benefit
GREAT NECK, N.Y. — In many ways it resembled the typical fashion show: The lights were blinding, the music was loud, the cameras were flashing. And Steve Moskowitz, the model sashaying down the runway in a charcoal-colored wool crewneck and crepe flat-front pants, looked the part, too. Yes, the rabbi was a hottie. A few…
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Remembering Gregory Peck, and a Not So Gentlemanly Agreement
The death of Gregory Peck on June 12 sparked extensive media commentary on how his film performances epitomized the best, most accepting, aspects of American culture. While almost all of the appreciations began by praising his Oscar-winning performance as Atticus Finch, a Southern lawyer defending an African-American man accused of raping a white woman in…
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Creator of Humanistic Judaism Set To Leave Pulpit
When Rabbi Sherwin Wine steps down from his pulpit next week, he’ll thank his colleagues, his family and his friends. But he won’t be thanking God. Wine caused eyes to roll 40 years ago when he created Humanistic Judaism, a movement that celebrates Judaism as a culture rather than a religion, and places its faith…
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Giving Gifts That Keep on Giving
Like many people, Sarah Wildman and Ian Halpern thought the process of getting married was a form of corporate genuflection. The notion of all that spending and accumulating — the typical wedding now runs upward of $22,000, according to bridal-magazine publisher Condé Nast — made them both a bit queasy. But, they wondered, what if…
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IN OTHER WORDS…
Clash of Jewish Civilizations: “It is undeniable that the State of Israel is in economic crisis and that the country’s bloated budget must be slashed,” Moshe Schapiro writes in the May issue of The Jewish Observer, a publication of Agudath Israel of America. “The charedi community accepts that reality. But when one sees where the…
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Where They Wed: Catering Hall, City Hall and Synagogue
Some people are lucky enough to get married at the governor’s mansion, but the rest of us, wedding planner in tow, trudge from one catering hall, hotel ballroom or synagogue to another — and then another — in search of the perfect setting for our nuptials. Blessed with a multitude of possibilities and a plethora…
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