Wacky Rabbi

October 7, 2009

What non-leather footwear did you don this Yom Kippur? Crocs, you say? Oy va voy! You just violated the latest fashion halacha from none other than esteemed Lithuanian leader Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliayshiv who banned the popular rubber shoes for being “too comfortable. “ The ruling, according to an article in Ynet, came in response […]

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Snippets from America – Part 2

September 30, 2009

Following up on my post from earlier this month, here are a few more snippets from our recent trip to the States. Mordechai and Esther in the desert One of the highlights of our trip was a stay in Yosemite, a stunningly beautiful national park located mid-way between Berkeley (where we started after visiting my […]

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Embracing East Jerusalem

September 22, 2009

I’ll admit it: I’m afraid of East Jerusalem. The reason isn’t that hard to discern. It wasn’t so long ago that an Israeli Jew who found himself lost in the Arab part of the city could be stoned, pulled out of the car and attacked. These days, though, East Jerusalem is mostly safe and filled […]

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Snippets from America – Part 1

September 15, 2009

We just returned from a nearly three-week vacation in the U.S. We visited family up and down California, hiked in redwoods and spent too many hours on planes and waiting in airports. Here are a few choice snippets from the trip. I’ll be posting a second batch later in the week. Donuts follow me One […]

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Little Rat Dog

September 7, 2009

We have been taking care of a cow this summer. No, not an authentic bovine. Rather a cash cow. At least that’s how it was explained to me by my 15-year-old daughter Merav that an adorable little dog would be joining us for the next six weeks. Adorable is not the word I would have […]

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Medusa Man

August 10, 2009

I am not in general a big fan of the beach. Sand gets in everything and the sun bears down on you like a robber in a shoot-out (how else to explain the need to take up arms – in this case sunscreen – to stay alive?). The way I figure it, if you want […]

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Business Advice for Social Entrepreneurs

July 29, 2009

As the 16 “social entrepreneurs” took to the stage last Thursday to present their 15-second “elevator pitch,” I was filled with a profound sense of Jewish pride. Here were some of Israel’s best and brightest, hand selected by the Presentense organization which aims to arm young people who want to do good with solid business […]

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Passion for Hebrew

July 21, 2009

I have long had a love hate relationship with Hebrew. I first arrived in Israel in 1984 as a backpacker with no plans and lots of time to indulge in the fine art of bumming around. I did a few Jewish learning programs, wrote scripts for videos, worked in a deli and, somewhere in the […]

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Parades and Tolerance, Then and Now

July 9, 2009

My nearly sixteen-year-old daughter Merav attended the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade two weeks ago. She had heard about the event, the controversy it had engendered, and thought it would be interesting to see what all the fuss was about. It’s funny how time tends to curl around and repeat itself. When I was sixteen, I […]

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Hugs and High School

June 26, 2009

What I’ll remember most about our son Amir’s graduation from 12th grade earlier this week was the hugs. Hugs between the guys. Hugs from the teachers to the graduates while on stage receiving their diplomas. The spontaneous group hug and circle dance the guys did to Mashina’s “Return, Return” at the end of the evening. […]

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