Now over a week after the election, the Grand Old Party has to quickly regroup and move ahead. But before they do, the party needs to change to have a future as anything other than a minority party. It’s not a matter of changing their core principles as some have suggested (in the end a shift of 407K votes in the battleground states would have changed the winner of the electoral college), but drastic changes need to be made in the way those principles are presented to voters to change the result of future elections. more

Since Monday of last week, I have read many articles, sermons, and even listened to some lectures online about “the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.” Most people, particularly those affected, are fairly sensitive to the realities, but no one can speak for another person’s devastation. Some had no damage, some had significant damage, some lost everything. Some lost loved ones, and those who were lost are obviously gone forever. Years ago, I heard a story about the Chafetz Chaim. One year, half of Radin burned down and those who were spared helped those who lost all. They rebuilt, and a little after the rebuilding was completed, the other half of Radin burned down. more

Do we have the right to test G-d? Can we sit back and wait for G-d to give us a sign as to what we are meant to do? Or perhaps we are meant to live in somewhat of a fog, so as to preserve intact our freedom to choose and make decisions in this world? This week’s portion, Chayei Sarah, contains a fascinating story on this topic: Avraham is getting on in years, his beloved wife Sarah is now gone and buried, and it is apparently time for Yitzchak to find a wife. So he calls in his trusted servant, Eliezer, and sends him on a mission to find a suitable mate for his son. more

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man There are only four things certain since Social Progress began. That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire, And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire; -The Gods of the Copybook Headings-Rudyard Kipling During the 2008 campaign, I explained to my friend and teacher Professor Barry Rubin, that people will not realize what Barack Obama was all about until he is elected but by then it will be too late. By the end of 2009, Rubin (a traditional liberal) was agreeing with me that the presidency of Barack Obama was turning into a disaster. more

The small room wasn’t much to look at, with its old, tired-looking walls and cracked floor tiles. And yet, a man had died here in this room. They had been looking for him for quite some time, scouring the country and waking entire neighborhoods every time rumor had it that he was somewhere in the vicinity. To judge by the heavily armed troops that were smashing down doors in the middle of the night, he must have had a fire to him, to inspire such a determined manhunt. more

“In 1959 Shlomo Carlebach released his first album – Haneshoma Loch [Songs of My Soul], -- which was an instant hit [selling 5,000 copies the first week] and completely revolutionized Jewish music. ‘The first record caused a musical furor both in the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds,’ recalls musicologist Velvel Pasternak, the foremost authority on contemporary Jewish music in the United States. ‘Rather than the Eastern European gestalt that had characterized Jewish music up until then and with which American Jewish youth couldn’t identify, Shlomo Carlebach’s music was written in an American idiom. more

The “Binding of Isaac” is a defining chapter in the story of the Jewish people. It inspires much of our liturgy (High Holidays, etc.). In some respects it represents what it means to sacrifice for one’s children. In some of the darker annals of Jewish history, some took it as the inspiration to literally sacrifice their children as Jews to avoid death or the loss of Jewish souls at the hands of others. It is not for us to judge those who chose the latter path, but it is noteworthy that they viewed Avraham’s “sacrifice” as inspiration for such choices, even though Avraham did not ultimately harm his son. “The Akedah” has inspired millions of hours of study and discussion, as well as countless pages of analysis, feeding conversations that will continue forever. more

Scaturro, a strong voice in the 4th C.D. Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy,( Garden City-D) who is campaigning for reelection to her 9th term has had a compelling story. Her entry into elected office came on the heels of the tragic shooting of her husband and son; only her son survived. She has been a strong voice for gun control legislation and deserves accolades for her efforts in this regard. more

There are many domestic reasons to vote for Mitt Romney on election day, most of which have been covered on these pages over since he became the apparent GOP nominee. There are also foreign policy issues, the one most relevant to the Jewish community is the future of Israel. Any Jew who believes in the State of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State and still votes for Barack Obama is committing Jew-i-cide. more

As cliché as this sounds...boy have times changed since I was a teenager in the 70s. In those days most of us babysat on Saturday nights. You know, to make money to buy those “frivolous” things that our moms said wasn’t necessary to buy, and if we wanted it, we could pay for it with our own money....I actually find myself saying the same thing to my daughter, but usually end up buying it for her. more