Did it matter to Floridian voters that Republican candidate Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, may have cut funding for kosher meals in nursing homes? Whether or not it made a difference is less important than the fact that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich felt the Jewish vote was so important that he needed to find some polarizing issue to throw at his opponent more

With public safety as the number one priority of government, Commissioner Dale stood alongside County Executive Ed Mangano at a press conference on Monday January 30, as the County Executive outlined his police reorganization plan. more

Most would call it a daunting burden — a spate of anti-Semitic bias crimes, potential police precinct closings, problems with the handling of crime lab evidence, the quest to bring down overall crime and rampant abuse of prescription drugs, all juxtaposed against budget woes. more

Dear Aviva, What is your take on platonic relationships? I’m in the dating scene, and while I am marriage minded, I really appreciate my close friendships, even though they are inter-gender. The problem is that people keep telling me that I give off mixed signals. I’m just someone who appreciates close relationships, even if I wouldn’t want a particular person to be my spouse. Is friendship so bad? -Buddy more

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Torah is the interweaving of “ethical” and “ritual” laws. For example, at the beginning of Parashat Kedoshim, we are met with the general commandment to be “holy,” the mitzvah of Kibud Av v’Am (parental respect), and almost immediately thereafter by laws referring to sacrificial offerings. The juxtaposition of these commandments contains a vital message, namely, “ethics” and “ritual” are inseparable. Together they form the constitutive elements from which Judaism is fashioned. more

When I was a child I dreamt that I’d marry into an immigrant family very similar to my own. My children would grow up speaking Spanglish and we’d continue the traditions I grew up with. But other than my extended family I really didn’t know many other Jewish Cubans living in Brooklyn. Little did I imagine I would later go to Israel, meet and then marry a totally different type of Jewish immigrant, one from Africa, who speaks Afrikaans and a bit of Zulu, but no Spanish at all. I continue to cook for my family some of the traditional Cuban dishes of my childhood. Our children’s Spanish, however, comes straight out of the textbooks from three years of forced high school Regents preparatory classes. Their attempts at hablando espanol can make me laugh; compared to them I sound like a real Cuban native! more

Jan. 29 Eating Disorders Among our Young People Congregation Aish Kodesh, Woodmere Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, radio personality, author, syndicated columnist and Director of the Center for Torah Initiatives and Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies at the Lander College for Women is keynote speaker at 8 p.m. Panel of experts including Dr. Ditza Berger, professor of Psychology at Lander College, Dr. Alan Perry, chair of the Department of Psychology at Lander College, and Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern, the spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Scarsdale who holds a Master’s Degree in Addiction Counseling will respond following Rabbi Goldwasser . Congregation Aish Kodesh is located at 894 Woodmere Place. more

Vince Lombardi set the standard for excellence in sport by being the first coach to not only hoist the sterling pigskin but to earn the right twice in a row thus cementing himself in the annals of NFL history and insuring that the twenty two inch silver trophy would eventually bear his name. more

Dear Mr. Greenstein,  I recently read your online article about your expertise in evaluating antique Judaica. more

Having worked as a pastry chef for many years, I thought I knew all there was to know about the inner workings of an industrial kitchen. At least I thought I did. That was before I managed to get myself on a list of just 15 passengers (aboard Royal Caribbean’s The Explorer of the Sea cruise liner) to tour the main kitchen with Executive Chef Patrick J. McCabe. With the information I learned on that tour, as well as all the information I received from sweet talking every steward, chef, head waiter, matre’d and bus boy that would speak to me, I decided to write my article aboard the cruise liner.  more