JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
In the Passover seder we are asked by the haggadah to treat ourselves “as if” we came out of Egypt — not just to tell the story but also to to experience the journey from slavery to freedom ourselves. We think that the hard part is sitting through many hours of storytelling (with family!), but…
Getting Drunk Is Not Kosher Today, we are well aware of the dangers of excessive drinking, alcohol addiction, and binging. There are strict laws regarding distribution of alcohol to minors and driving under the influence of alcohol. Yet at least once a year, On Purim, observant Jews behave as if there is no tomorrow and…
This past Simchat Torah, a friend and I watched warily as one of the congregants, usually a composed professional type, staggered around the front lawn of the synagogue, drunk and mumbling to himself. Inside, the other men of the congregation were bidding on aliyahs and other honors for the upcoming year, their wallets loosened thanks…
An earlier version of this post appeared in the Leviathan Jewish Journal, December 2015. The Magen David, or the Jewish star, used to be known as something else: The “brewer’s star.” As early as the 14th century, the six-pointed star was stamped on the bottom of beer barrels by the European brewers’ guild. Its purpose…
I often wondered how Jewish youth from nurturing families in close knit communities become substance abusers. Do we not provide our children economic stability, values and educational opportunity? Are we not role models of accomplishment and positive social involvement? Our children have every reason to feel good about themselves. And yet, more and more young…
While Harvey Weinstein has had cause to shep nakhes lately, his brother Bob seems to be having nothing but tsoris. Word hit the press on the first day of Passover that movie producer Bob Weinstein’s wife Anne Clancy Weinstein, a former book editor, has filed for divorce and is seeking an order of protection. She…
It was the alcohol and drugs talking, not John Galliano. That’s the defense being used, predictably, by the English fashion designer, who went on trial in Paris today for anti-Semitic rants made at a restaurant in the French capital in October and February. The comments qualify as criminal hate speech in France, where Galliano faces…
Virtual
Dec 7, 2022
7 pm ET ·
A conversation with Julia Haart and her son Shlomo, stars of Netflix's 'My Unorthodox Life,' about the new season and much more.