There is a legend regarding Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known German composer, who was far from being handsome (long with a rather short stature, he had a grotesque hunchback). One day he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a lovely daughter named Frumtje.Moses fell helplessly in love with her, but Frumtje was repulsed by his misshapen appearance. more

"Turns out your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. See, mostly dead is still slightly alive” (Billy Crystal as Miracle Max the Wizard, in The Princess Bride). Last week, the U.S. sponsored talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, which had been MOSTLY dead for weeks, took its last breath. There is plenty of blame to pass around. more

"I believe that President [Mahmoud] Abbas is sincere about his willingness to recognize Israel and its right to exist, to recognize Israel’s legitimate security needs, to shun violence, to resolve these issues in a diplomatic fashion that meets the concerns of the people of Israel. And I think that this is a rare quality not just within the Palestinian territories, but in the Middle East generally.” more

Parshat Kedoshim begins with the charge to the children of Israel to be kedoshim, G-d is, He explains, Himself kadosh. The words kedoshim and kadosh have several possible meanings. more

The sound of the train pulling in to the Kfar Saba station filled the air on another beautiful afternoon. Hundreds of people getting on and off a second train across the platform, beneath the beautiful new glass and stone ceiling of the modern new station opened only two weeks before. more

When you look at the image of Frazier Glenn Cross, aka Glenn Miller, the shooter who cold-bloodedly murdered three Christians in a bloody eve-of-Passover spree at two Jewish community buildings in Overland Park, Kansas, what do you see? more

This Passover was marred by the anti-Semitic shooting in Overland Park, Kansas, and the distribution of leaflets in Donetsk, Ukraine, calling for Jews over age 16 to register as Jews. There is no surprise these incidents happened now, because Passover is a season for Jew hatred: Passover is blood libel season. more

By the time you’re reading this, you’re likely setting back into the chametz routine. Back in your pantries are the cereals you love, the snacks your kids missed and your regular baking ingredients. And, if you’re like me, those new products will be nestled amongst the left over unopened boxes of matzo farfel, cake meal, matzo meal, potato starch, Passover noodles, puddings, soup bases, potato chips and marshmallows — lots of bags of marshmallows. more

More than 100 shofar-carrying protestors are expected to assemble on April 29 in front of the 59th Street headquarters of the UJA-Federation of NY. On cue, they will raise their curved rams’ horns and wail to the heavens in visceral unison. They are protesting their communal leadership. more

The last few days we’ve all been rushing around; I’m sure I speak for everyone, those who will stay home and those who will be away. I was actually very surprised to see the amount of Pesach food and options in all the stores. It seemed odd, as I thought my family was the only one staying home. more