According to NBC White House reporter Chuck Todd, the President’s Chief of Staff Jack Lew spent much of the weekend talking to the Jewish figures that worship progressive policy above all else. His purpose was to convince them to drop (or at least temper) their opposition to Chuck Hagel’s candidacy for Secretary of State. Lew’s efforts were partially successful. more

How does one make life meaningful? How do we make sure that we are living every moment to its fullest potential? This week’s portion, Shemot, contains a powerful indication to Judaism’s recipe for a meaningful and joyful life. more

Commentaries have a field day trying to pinpoint what was Moshe’s sin that sealed his fate not to bring the people to the Promised Land. Even the language of the Torah is inconclusive, because when the episode of Mei Merivah (Bamidbar Chapter 20 – the “Rock incident”) took place, Moshe and Aharon are informed they will not “bring” the people to the land. It is only later that they are told they, too, will not “enter” the land (Bamidbar 20:24, Devarim 4:21 (referring to Bamidbar 14:30?), Devarim 32:52). more

The officers of the children of Israel saw them in distress, saying, “Do not reduce [the number] of your bricks, the requirement of each day in its day.” They met Moses and Aaron standing before them when they came out from Pharaoh’s presence. And they said to them, “May the L-rd look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hand[s] to kill us.” more

We were heading out to a wedding dear friends were making and I wanted to leave enough time to get there since we always get lost somehow or stuck in horrendous traffic. I hadn’t eaten all day and was looking forward to the shmorg. Lucky for me there was no traffic and we got off the highway in record time. Only problem was, the road we were supposed to merge onto was nowhere in sight. more

This past Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. This coming Shabbat and for the next month ahead, we will be reading and learning from Shemot, the Book of Exodus, the story of our slavery in Egypt and the subsequent liberation and the giving of the Ten Commandments. more

Enlightening & tasty Dear Editor: I always find Judy Joszef’s articles and recipes enlightening and delicious. This week’s history of gefilte fish was extra special. Kudos for top notch cooking and research. Marlene Sider North Woodmere more

At this time of year, people usually write about the biggest stories or most impactful stories of the year. Being a contrarian at heart, I prefer to look at the stories that should have been the biggest stories. These are the news items that might have been the number one stories of the year if they hadn’t been ignored or misreported by the mainstream media. more

Of all the unexpected visitors I have ever received, none even come close to the surprise I got in the summer of ‘94. I was teaching a course on Jewish values deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania, at a camp called Moshava, near Indian Orchard. We were in the middle of an intense discussion on Jewish ethics, when I noticed three fellows standing at the entrance to the lodge. Their features were far- eastern; Chinese, it seemed, and they were standing patiently at the door, taking it all in. more

This week’s parasha (Torah portion) contains a verse that seems to defy all manner of understanding: “Now Joseph’s brothers saw that their father had died…” (Sefer Bereishit 50:15, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach). What can the Torah possibly mean when it tells us this? more