So … what now? For many, college is a symbol of independence. It represents a chance to follow passions, make new friends and explore one’s identity. Each year, high school seniors across the country spend time and energy dedicating themselves to...

(JTA) — “Why does everybody hate us?” My son Izzy asked me this question after a man with a machete attacked Jews at a Hanukkah party in Monsey, New York, in 2019. Izzy was 12 years old when he flopped onto the couch, kicked up his feet and...

Sometimes, real life is more amazing and inspiring than fiction. This true story is about a girl and boy from different families who attended religious school at Shaare Emeth in the early 1970s. They probably saw each other, although she was six years...

This article originally appeared on Alma. Jewish cooking in my family has always been an act of revival and reconnection. My family, though very dedicated to Judaism, has very few Jewish recipes that have been preserved throughout the generations....

(JTA) — I live in one of the most concentrated Jewish communities in the United States, the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and I no longer have a daily morning minyan to attend in person.  It seems that in my neighborhood, as well as many others,...

Once upon a time, Bryan Cranston played a quadriplegic in a film. In real life, Cranston isn't a quadriplegic, but should that have dismissed him from playing the role in "The Upside," a decent American remake of a beautiful French film ("The Intouchables")?...

This article originally appeared on Alma.  Growing up, one of my favorite books was “Number the Stars,” Lois Lowry’s middle-grade novel about Denmark’s effort to smuggle its Jewish citizens to Sweden during World War II. The operation, which...

In Hebrew there is a saying that “M’at min ha’ohr docheh harbay min ha’choshech,” a small bit of light dispels a great deal of darkness.  Anyone who has experienced a blackout in the middle of night knows this is true:  The light of one small...

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — For much of its history, Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust authority, tried to steer clear of political controversies as it went about creating a lasting memorial and research center dedicated to the Nazi genocide of...

“No one is an island, no one can say this has got nothing to do with me – we have to bear the responsibility individually and collectively for this horrifying situation which threatens our world and which threatens our grandchildren and our great...

(JTA) — In 1916, in the picturesque German village of Heinebach, a 14-year-old girl named Elisabeth Schmidtkunz penned a sweet message in her classmate Jenny Katz’s autograph book. “Jenny! Get to know people,” wrote Elisabeth. “People are...