I remember distinctly the first time I saw this photograph, hanging in a huge frame over the mantel in cousin Susan’s house in Ann Arbor, Mich., 32 years ago.
That weekend the Neumann family had gathered from all over to celebrate her parents...
ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published October 20, 2021
Colin Powell, the son of Jamaican immigrant parents who rose to the very top in military leadership and diplomacy, died Monday of complications from COVID-19. His passing leaves a huge void that will be almost impossible to fill.
General Powell became...
Amy Fenster Brown, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published October 20, 2021
We are one week away from Halloween, which is like a warning that the winter holiday season is right around the corner -- hiding so it can jump out, yell “BOO!” and scare you when you least expect it.
Halloween is also a fantastic time to ponder...
Dan Buffa, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published October 20, 2021
It's been six days since the St. Louis Cardinals abruptly fired Mike Shildt, which came only eight days after the Cardinals were eliminated by the Dodgers in the National League wildcard game.
Easily one of the most bizarre firings in the recent memory...
By GABRIELLE BIRKNER, My Jewish learning
• Published October 19, 2021
Judaism places a high value on passing stories from generation to generation. Here’s how to get the most out of your conversations with your parents and grandparents.
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — A few years ago a colleague called to interview me for a book he was writing about journalists who worked for Jewish publications. I told him that it would be the first book in history whose readership would overlap...
Dan Buffa, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published October 19, 2021
Paul can't sleep. Due to a wicked combination of terrifying nightmares and enlightening visions, his nights are distorted; a young man destined for high purpose (leader of galaxies?) who isn't exactly ready for what is about to come.
I don't think...
Rabbi Hillel, the prominent first century Jewish sage, famously said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” Now is the time we must stand up and tell our elected officials, “Let...
JONATHAN S. TOBIN, JNS
• Published October 16, 2021
The Department of Justice’s attempt to frame protests against critical race theory as “domestic terrorism” is wrong. It’s also a defense of ideas that give a permission slip to anti-Semitism.
Dan Buffa, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published October 14, 2021
"WOW! You look so good. Did you lose weight?"
One of the worst things about looks is that they are the first thing people see. Sometimes, the only thing they see. Before our mouths can even open and apply context, a preliminary grade and overall look...
(JTA) — As a writer, literature professor and one of the 82% of U.S. Jews who report that “caring about Israel” is either “essential” or “important” to their Jewish identity, I am pained when I see authors whom I admire launch exaggerated...
MaNishtana (Shais Rishon)
• Published October 13, 2021
(JTA) — Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman, in comments on her Sept. 30 podcast, railed against the practice of casting non-Jews as Jewish characters in TV and films. She referred to the castings as “Jewface,” a play on the historically racist...
