Turning 50

September 8, 2010

“Today I become a man.” That’s a declaration more commonly associated with a bar mitzvah boy but, as I turn 50 today, I feel I am passing a milestone even more auspicious. For what does one really know about being a grownup at a mere 13? Perhaps, once upon a time, that was closer to […]

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Why I’m No Longer Buying Croutons

August 26, 2010

One of my favorite condiments for Friday night chicken soup is croutons. So it is with a heavy heart that I’ve had to ban my beloved fried, garlic-infused mini-bread squares from my culinary repertoire. The reason: I don’t agree with the ideological goals of the organization that grants them their kosher certification. My problems with […]

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My Evening with Ted

August 19, 2010

One of my closest childhood friends flew into town recently for a whirlwind Jewish Federation-sponsored tour of Israel. Ted had a couple of hours free in Jerusalem, so along with my friends David and Shelley Brinn (who had also known Ted back in the day) and Ted’s old girlfriend Evelyn, we met up at a […]

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A Subversive Marriage Proposal

August 10, 2010

Rabbi Haviva Ner-David Rabbi Haviva Ner-David has a subversive proposal for young couples in Israel: don’t get married. At all. And with the recent directives to rabbis at the local marriage registrars that I wrote about previously, her approach is more timely than ever. Ner-David, one of the first (and only) women to receive Orthodox […]

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Patriotic Pride

August 4, 2010

The Jerusalem Pride Parade, 2010 Some 3,000 people marched from Jerusalem’s Independence Park to the Knesset in last week’s annual Gay Pride parade. My daughter Merav and I were there to support the community. It’s been a long time since I was at a gay parade – I used to regularly join the massive San […]

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Tu B’av Fashion Show Faux Pas?

July 27, 2010

Actress Sharon Fauster emcee’d a Tu B’av fashion show in Jerusalem Tu B’av – the 15th day of the Jewish month of Av – is the closest Israelis have to a Valentine’s Day: just substitute a bit of ribald wisdom from the rabbis of the Talmud for a martyred Roman saint and a lot of […]

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Tisha B’av with Helicopters

July 20, 2010

The book of Eicha is traditionally read on Tisha B’av Every year on Tisha B’av, there are pundits who write in the local newspapers that we should stop fasting and start celebrating. Tisha B’av – the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av (which always falls somewhere in super-heated July or August) – commemorates […]

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Gaza: a Rock and Roll Response

July 14, 2010

With another ship of questionable humanitarian aid and activists on its way to Gaza this week, I thought I’d take a look back at what my wife Jody and I did during the original “Free Gaza flotilla” and near lynching of Israeli troops six weeks ago: we went to a concert. Not just any concert, […]

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Meet Me at the Mugrabi

July 8, 2010

Mugrabi Cinema in its Heyday When I was hired to record a series of conversations to accompany a course on teaching Hebrew to English speakers, I didn’t know I’d be getting a lesson in Tel Aviv nostalgia. The project was to edit a 500-page curriculum originally developed to prepare U.S. diplomats posted to Israel. Along […]

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Will my Children Be Jewish?

June 29, 2010

MK David Rotem New regulations from the Chief Rabbinate have non-Orthodox Israelis in a tizzy. According to the rules, anyone can have their Jewishness called into question at any time. But legislators in the Knesset aren’t taken the changes lying down with MK David Rotem vowing to fight. The new rules appear to be part […]

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