The seder is modeled as an educational tool par excellence, geared towards the kids. A necessary component is the question-answer format. But this very much depends on the motive behind the questions; is the questioner really searching for answers, or is he merely cynical, having decided his opinion earlier on….Only through honest questioning and searching for truth can one truly grow and thus be free, as evidenced by Natan Sharansky`s closing speech at his trial…. more

Overheard from a second grade rebbe: “If I don’t load the kids up with Pesach preparation, parents think they haven’t learned anything all year.” I don’t know if that is a truism across the board, if many parents think that way, or if just a minority take the Pesach prep as a reflection of the entire school year. But I think such a notion is antithetical to what Pesach is all about. We are doing it all backwards. more

In reading former Israeli Defense and Foreign Minister Moshe Arens’ latest work, “Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto” [Gefen Publishing, 2011] and interviewing him this past summer 2012 in Jerusalem, I was given the opportunity to become more fully acquainted with the decisive leadership role that Rabbi Menachem Ziemba played in the uprising against the Nazis 70 years ago this coming Passover. more

Dear Editor I hope you will consider printing yet another letter regarding the sale of the number 6 school. By the time this letter is printed the vote on the sale will have been taken and so this letter is not for or against the sale to the Simone Group and Mt. Sinai. Rather I am writing about the School Boards decision to recommend the sale of the building to Mt. Sinai and to put it to the community for a vote. more

Last Wednesday, I headed to the nation’s capital for the annual trip to CPAC 2013, the Conservative Political Action Committee’s annual conference. more

As we put this issue of The Jewish Star to bed, we look forward to the much anticipated chag of Pesach. I actually have the pre-Pesach mindset starting from Chanukah, when I stop buying pasta and cereal (how does the closet get so full of chametz?) more

Children should not only be vaccinated against childhood diseases, but they should also be “vaccinated” against child abuse, according to two Jewish educators, one from New York, one from Los Angeles. A hard-cover children’s book published by Artscroll, and available since January for a minimal fee as an audio downloadable book, and elementary school programs are among the attempts of educators to arm children in an emotional and psychological form of self-defense against potential predators. more

As each Jewish holiday approaches, music fans search the Internet in anticipation wondering: will the Maccabeats produce a new song for this upcoming chag? They’ve targeted Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah and Purim, and sort of spoofed Sukkot, but now they’ve taken on Pesach, seeing a connection between the words and music of Les Miserables and the story of Passover. more

In the wake of the assault of a local high school student in Cedarhurst one evening last week, adults and teens from Bais Tefilah met to hear a police officer discuss safety this past Monday night. more

As the cleaning, buying and cooking for Pesach intensifies and gradually abates on the morning before the seder, the Woodmere Fire Department comes to the rescue again, providing a safe, supervised chametz burning by the firehouse for the community. more