The Great Neck Synagogue had a colorful Simchat Torah this year, with a huge tallit cloth held up by six poles in the main sanctuary, the work of local couple Ina and Isaac Greszes, in memory of Ina’s father Charles Frankel. “My wife is a graphic designer and I’ve worked with fabrics all my life,” Isaac Greszes said. “We combined out know-how.” more

The Tower of Babel story teaches many lessons. Arguably the most blatant problem in the story is that the goal of the people involved was to “make for ourselves a name.” (Bereishit 11:4) more

“If you don’t support Barack Obama, shut the heck up!” That appears to be the message of the leading secular Jewish organizations, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in a joint statement released on Tuesday asking Jews not to make Israel a political Issue more

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Amid the cacophony of drumbeats, rhyming protest chants and spirited debates, an outspoken activist blogger vows to keep the Jewish presence in downtown Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park beyond its highly publicized Sukkot. “We have a traditional egalitarian minyan and we will continue with Shabbat dinners as long as we can,” said Daniel Sieradski, 32, a self-described “Orthodox anarchist,” with a long resume of social causes and online campaigns. more

A pair of HAFTR seniors was among the semifinalists in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology held on Oct. 21. Wade Miller and Erich Hirsch studied the use of graphene and graphene oxide as a potential substitute for stem cells in replacing body tissue. more

When a Muslim family in Yugoslavia protected its Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust, the family had no idea that Israel would rescue them from genocide during the Bosnian War 50 years later. But that is exactly what happened for one Muslim family, and a descendant is now telling her remarkable story, on a visit on Oct. 16 to Glen Cove. more

How do individuals appearing committed to Torah learning and tradition, find justification to firebomb a private residence in New Square, smash bookstore windows in Jerusalem, and vandalize a girls’ yeshiva in Ramat Beit Shemesh? In a recent Ami Magazine interview, former Edah HaCharedit spokesman Rabbi Shmuel Pappenheim, described these zealots as inspired by Pinchas, the biblical hero who massacred a Jewish prince for having an affair with a gentile woman. The sages praised his act, in restoring honor to the nation. more

Nearly all civilizations and cultures have been focused upon the importance of time. We Jews are no exception to this well-nigh universal rule. By way of example, one need only cite the famous words of King Solomon as presented in the third chapter of his masterful examination of the human spirit known as Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). more

I can still see his eyes and his twinkling smile as I walked him to the bus, with his rucksack over his back and a pair of ‘kafkafim’ (shower shoes) tied on and dangling from a piece of string. more