(JTA) — When I read the news about Kanye West, I didn’t know whether to turn off my phone, or throw it.
I knew it would only be a matter of time before the emails and texts began rolling in: What do you think about Kanye? What’s to be done about...
Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content Officer
• Published October 27, 2022
Dear Reader,
I'm a true sucker for a great love story and I'm a firm believer in the concept of beshert, the Yiddish word that means “destined” or “fated.” It can be used to describe all kinds of lucky or fortuitous situations, not just romantic...
MIMI DAVID, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
• Published October 26, 2022
As a certified mikvah mentor, I hear married Jewish women hesitate about going to the mikvah for a variety of reasons. Many of these reasons are actually based on misconceptions about the mitzvah of mikvah, and I think it is time to publicly clear...
We should focus attention on more pressing issues
The reactions in the Jewish community to the antisemitic remarks of the rapper Kanye West are, sadly, all too illustrative. While West’s comments will have no impact on future of the Jewish people,...
(JTA) — Tom Stoppard is one of those playwrights who flatters you with his erudition. His 1993 play “Arcadia” dives deeply into the mathematics of algorithms and fractals. His breakthrough 1966 play, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,”...
Dan Buffa, Special For The Jewish Light
• Published October 13, 2022
“What if I told you that your family was murdered for no reason at all? Now, ask yourself, what would you do?”
This heart-piercing question opens the Holocaust revenge drama “Plan A,” which is based on a true story.
That special brand...
Coach Ron Zetcher, Special For The Jewish Light
• Published October 10, 2022
I’ll get to the point. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are Cardinals treasures. The ignorant comments by some that they caused our two-game loss needs to be addressed.
Both of these men are great MLB players and exemplary citizens. Hitting...
(JTA) — Mike Hale ruined “The Gilded Age” for me. After reading his New York Times pan of the HBO series about Old New York — he called it ”a muddled and slapdash portrait … that consistently dips into caricature” — I figured there were...
(JTA) — It is rare that one can say attending a funeral was an uplifting experience. Yet the funeral Thursday for Judah Samet — teacher of Torah at his Tree of Life synagogue, possessor of a unique and vigorous voice and sense of humor, veteran of...
JUDY LASH BALINT, JNS
• Published September 29, 2022
(JNS) Is there any other country in the world that goes silent once a year for more than 24 hours? In Israel, from the eve of Yom Kippur (Tuesday, Oct. 4) until an hour after sunset the next night, there’s no traffic apart from emergency vehicles,...
ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL, JTA
• Published September 25, 2022
(JTA) — One of the centerpieces of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Avinu Malkeinu” prayer — Our Father, Our King. It’s a desperate and emotional appeal for forgiveness, set to powerful melodies over the centuries.
It’s...
Mimi David, Special For The Jewish Light
• Published September 22, 2022
Rosh Hashanah can seem confusing. On one hand, we know it is the Day of Judgment, a day on which the future of every human being and really of the entire world is discerned.
On the other hand, it is a day of celebration. We wear our nicest clothes,...
