(JTA) — When it became clear that the Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, had just been elected the first Black senator from the state of Georgia, he addressed the nation, quoting Psalm 30:6: “We may lie down weeping in the night,...
(JTA) — Americans watched in shock on Wednesday as a mob broke into the Capitol, ransacked senatorial offices and exiled a joint meeting of Congress. Many who witnessed this desecration of a U.S. governmental institution found it among the more traumatizing...
(JTA) — “Are you safe? Home? Locked down?” These are the three questions I’ve sent over and over to friends and colleagues throughout the day.
Today started for me like many others: email in the morning and then, after lunch, turning on...
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
• Published January 6, 2021
(JTA) — I remember many years ago feeling ambivalent about the prayer for the government recited in synagogues every Shabbat morning. Were we sanctifying the policies of an administration? What of political leaders who would use religious language in...
This story originally appeared on Kveller.I just lied to my 4-year-old little girl, right to her pretty little curly-haired face, about why her school was closed today. I told her it was because of a traffic problem, and we danced to the “Traffic Jam...
The year 2020 has finally come to an end — and not a moment too soon. As we look toward the New Year hoping for health and healing, let’s look back on one of the most challenging years in recent memory. Overarching 2020 was the global COVID-19...
By Amy Fenster Brown
• Published December 31, 2020
We’ve all heard people saying, “I can’t wait until 2020 is over,” as if the changing of the calendar is going to magically erase everything. No question, 2020 has been a – your choice of bad word goes here – of a year. Bleep that bleep....
If pressed for an opinion, I would say that I believe 2021 will be a better year for humanity than 2020 has been, based on a layman’s understanding of the current state of medical science, political and economic realities and human nature.
I would...
By Michael Staenberg
• Published December 31, 2020
My father, Marty Staenberg, was a role model and inspiration. He taught me to work hard for what I wanted and never to forget that no matter what I earn, part of it should go to tzedakah, to helping others. It is a lesson that has served me well throughout...
In Ancient Greece, the word “idiot” referred to an individual who took no interest in public affairs, in the life of the polis. America has long been populated by idiots, folks who not only are disengaged from politics but are ignorant about it as...
(JTA) — Many of my fellow rabbinical students and friends are enthusiastic about a new strategy for elevating women’s voices in Torah study into the beit midrash this fall.
The Kranjec Test — named for Danielle Kranjec, the Jewish educator...
By Robert A. Cohn, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published December 17, 2020
Having turned 81 in September during the lethal COVID-19 pandemic, and facing the challenges of aging and losing loved ones more frequently, I’m reluctant to glance at the “In Memoriam” lists from University City High School, Washington University...
