On Friday I described the reactions I’ve witnessed of babies tasting ice cream for the first time. Their eyes light up and it’s as if they are reassessing all the possibilities presented by the planet where they’ve just landed. For comparison, here’s a Russian girl tasting her first falafel. Do you see the light in [...]

“Syria is the backbone of the resistance and we will not sit with our hands crossed.”

A bid by the Israeli government to legalize four Judea and Samaria settlement outposts is neither “appropriate” nor “constructive” but should not prevent the resumption of peace talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. “Our position on settlements and outposts and on the legalization is that we are opposed to it,” Kerry said Friday [...]

Public health officials discovered a case of measles at a kosher grocery store in the Orthodox community of Spring Valley, N.Y. The Rockland County Health Department advised anybody who was at the Hatzlacha Grocery Store, located at 80 West Spring St., between 1:30 and 4:30 PM on Wednesday to contact their doctor. High-risk groups for [...]

There is no doubt that the David Arenberg who will emerge from prison in approximately five months is a different, a better and a more spiritual human being than the one who went in more than 12 years ago. But the losses and the pain have been profound.

In the chronicles of Jewish history, few men have shown as magnificent a soul as the great Hillel. For in order for a leader to qualify for greatness, he must be more than merely a great scholar — although that is, of course, the most necessary attribute. He must also possess depth of character and the sweetness and gentleness of soul that will enable him to under stand the needs and sufferings of his people. Without this sensitivity, he can never truly be a great leader.

Nearly half a million of them fought in Red Army uniforms, under communist slogans but with a personal vengeance that was solely the result of Jewish experience. More than the “Greatest Generation,” they were the living superheroes hidden in plain sight.

It’s all over.

The orchestra is still, the lights are dimmed. Your simcha outfits hang in your closet, silent witnesses to a time you will treasure in your mind and heart forever.

Scene One:

After noticing that you can’t log into your computer, your pulse quickens as you are called into your supervisor’s office. S/he has some bad news. You are being laid off. You have 15 minutes to clean out your desk and surrender your cell phone before security escorts you out of the building. Job termination, especially in the corporate world, can be heartless.

I have always had a problem with the Omer. Doing the mitzvah of counting the Omer was of course pretty easy. Remembering to start the second evening of Passover and remembering to stop the day before Shavous took a little concentration but somehow I always managed. No, for me the nagging problem was always why was I doing this in the first place, other than the fact it was a biblical (according to the Rambam) commandment.

Israelis protested and held vigils in locations around Judea and Samaria on Friday. The locations where the vigils were held were selected based on locations on the road where Jews have been recently attacked by Arabs. Some of the locations included the roads near Beit El, the Beitar Junction on Road 60, El Arub near [...]

With the semi-mourning period of Sefira behind us, and the festival of Shavuot as well (as evidenced by the tightness of our clothing due to over-indulging in irresistible versions of cheesecake that is an integral component of celebrating our receipt of the Torah), our community can look forward to participating in joyous engagement parties and weddings.