Few of us will lead a life as full as my “shviger” (mother-in-law), Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: a life that spanned an ocean with an unremitting creative urge and a sense of personal purpose that encompassed a universe. While it may appear that her tragedies outweighed her joys, she dazzled the world with her accomplishments and was…
(JTA) — First there was the Conservative movement’s October biennial conference, billed as “The conversation of the century” and opened up to presenters from outside the movement. Then came the November General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, which featured a “Global Jewish shuk: a marketplace of dialogue and debate” led by young Israelis…
A top Conservative movement official thinks that Conservative rabbis should be allowed to participate in interfaith weddings. Now explicitly barred by the movement, the proposal — put forward by Rabbi Charles Simon of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs — is one of a handful of new efforts by Conservative rabbis to loosen restrictions on…
The crowd leaned in closer toward the game table as the competitors nervously practiced spinning techniques before the final round of the first Major League Dreidel tournament of the 2013 season. But something wasn’t quite right. “I know exactly what this needs,” said Eric Pavony, 34, founder and self-styled “knishioner“ of Major League Dreidel, before…
Heavy rain was forecast for that blustery Roman morning in December 1996, so I arrived early in order to escape the frenzied traffic and secure a space in the parking lot of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, where I was a division director. The marble-and-travertine-clad buildings of the FAO, originally constructed by Mussolini…
The United Nations began distributing fuel in Gaza to keep critical infrastructure running, an official said. “Fuel is actually coming in, as of today, through the Kerem Shalom,” a border crossing with Israel, U.N. Middle East Special Coordinator Robert Serry told a news conference in northern Gaza Thursday. The fuel, he told the AFP news…
On December 2, 1763, the first day of Hanukkah, a procession wound through Newport, R.I., carrying three Torah scrolls bound for their new home in a synagogue that would quickly establish its place in American Jewish lore. When the scrolls entered the newly built Touro Synagogue, their arrival was celebrated with music and prayer that…
An Israeli court jailed six Israeli Arab citizens on Thursday over the mob killing in 2005 of a Jewish gunman after he went on a deadly rampage on a bus in their town. None of The six men from Shfaram in northern Israel had been convicted of directly causing the death of Eden Nathan-Zaada, a…
(JTA) — For years, Rachel Light felt like a hostage, worried she would be forever trapped in her marriage to Eben Light. Even in April 2012, after Eben was arrested for allegedly threatening her and was slapped with a restraining order, Rachel was unable to get a writ of Jewish divorce, or get. That made…
Midway through the National Football League season, the Chicago Bears are battling for top spot a wild NFC North division. After a disappointing 2012-213 season they are poised to make a playoff appearance. Leading them on the field every Sunday is their head coach Marc Trestman, who also happens to be Jewish. Trestman is the…
Al Chernin, who died November 26 at age 85, was one of the last of the giants of Jewish public affairs. That overused cliché notwithstanding, his death truly marks the end of an era. It was an era characterized by a communal structure and a communal approach to public affairs that is today all but…
