The NY Times Sunday magazine recently featured an article about the dangers of yoga, titled “All Bent out of Shape, the Problem with Yoga”. The author goes into gruesome detail of various injuries sustained by both students and instructors in their intensive practice of yoga. After discussing the article at length with friends and teachers, I’ve decided it’s typical of sensationalist journalism, creating a provocative title and inserting some truths amid the extreme examples that prove the author’s point. more

Jan. 21 Annual Melava Malka and Concert Congregation Machane Chodosh is featuring the talented Yoel Sharabi at 7:30 p.m. Admission in advance is $22 for members, $25 for non-members and $28 at … more

Much of my writing centers on discussing the esotericism of food and as a result I tend to get labeled as a food snob. Not that I should expect any different after all when you use more than five words to describe what shade of purple a wine is or when you use the word umami without sarcasm or irony some of the natural fallout is that people will suspect that your tastes are expressly highfalutin. more

Dear Mr. Greenstein: Attached is a photo of a menorah which has been in our family for a long time. more

A sports fan is nothing, if not superstitious. In addition to great defense, an unlikely Hail Mary, uncharacteristic Packer drops and turnovers, and of course Eli-te, my article in last week’s Jewish Star seems to have been one of the keys to the Giants’ stunning upset. As all veteran Giants fans rem more

Let’s face it, how many of us would like to limit the amount of fat in our diet? How many of us actually do? more

The three of us represented a standard cross-section of Israeli society: Kachlon, a bank-teller, Rami, an electrician, and me. It has always been my custom to say the special prayer for the journey (Tefillat Ha’Derech) before every patrol, and this one was no exception. Though both Rami and Kachlon did not describe themselves as religious, both instinctively covered their heads with their hands as I intoned the traditional prayer. more

I have a hard time understanding the role of Aharon, Moshe’s brother, in the exodus story. When he is first appointed to be the leader/redeemer of Israel, Moshe presents a number of arguments as to why he is not the best man for the job. He may even hint to the idea that Aharon would be a more worthy choice. more

In 1916, in Portsmouth, Virginia, a little boy named Max was born. In two years his family, the Gifters, moved to Baltimore and when little Max was old enough he was sent to receive a full public school education. What was to follow in Max’s, now Mordechai’s, life was the legacy of one of America’s first native born sages who was to help redefine the status of Jewish religious learning both here in the United States and the world. more

In a rambling speech as unclear as the rest of his campaign, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman began his Monday morning press conference attacking the rest of the field. He admonished his colleagues for running nasty campaigns (true but people in glass houses…). When he was done playing campaign police Huntsman announced his withdrawal from the primary race. He then endorsed one of the people he had just finished trashing, Mitt Romney. more