Monday April 06, 2020 | 12 Nisan 5780
These past months have been rife with political drama – here in the United States and in Israel. I am writing this in early February so don’t know what has happened in recent weeks, but I cannot imagine they have been any less drama-filled thanks to ongoing Democratic primaries, yet another Israeli election, and […]
The most influential Jew is Moses. This, according to “The Jewish 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Jews of All Time.” If we were to update this 1994 book by Michael Shapiro for 2020, would we have new entries? After thousands of years of civilization, can modern culture truly produce a few more […]
This is in response to Jim Beer’s opinion piece in the December 2019 Chronicle, “Donald Trump, Philo-Semite: Our president has an interest in and a respect for the Jewish people.” There were a number of issues brought up by the article. I will discuss them one by one: 1. The great majority of Democrats […]
This is in response to Jim Beer’s opinion piece in the December 2019 Chronicle, “Donald Trump, Philo-Semite: Our president has an interest in and a respect for the Jewish people.” While I agree that President Trump may have an interest and respect for the Jewish people, he has a lack of understanding as to what […]
I’ve been a member of Congregation Shir Hadash in Milwaukee for going on three years. I enjoy Friday night services at shul, and Torah study, which is usually held in our home. I’m married to Shir’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Michal Woll. I’m not Jewish. I’m a Catholic. I’m also a writer and book publisher. After […]
If this is a review, it can only be a half-review. I walked out of “JoJo Rabbit” soon after JoJo, a non-Jewish child in Nazi Germany, discovers a Jew living in secret behind his walls. Wish me luck. I now arrive to pan the film that the majority deems funny and knowing. It’s certified fresh […]
In the wake of the overwhelming victory by Conservatives in the United Kingdom’s elections, American progressives need to be careful not to fall into the plight of the British Labour party. Among worthy causes, antisemitism festered in the party, initially cloaked under the guise of being “critical of Israel” (often with inaccurate information or vague […]
It is cliché to call a catastrophe of “Biblical proportions,” but the consequences of global warming, climate migrations, pollution, species and habitat extinctions, and ocean degradation portend catastrophes of such proportions. Jewish faith and culture have long addressed our responsibility to the Earth and again invite a Jewish response. Torah, their source, is fundamentally about […]
For most of us, our daily lives aren’t impacted much, but we can feel the darkness. It’s a heaviness in the air, pumped in by the anger of those who hate us for nothing. “It’s just a very sad feeling because of the baseless hatred that someone has for someone they don’t even know,” […]
This is the season of the year when we all hear holiday songs and one of the most recognized has lyrics that include “Do you see what I see . . . Do you hear what I hear?” I have been thinking about those questions in relation to our Jewish community and President Trump. This […]
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