It Happened
It’s history. You can’t deny it.
The Holocaust. Just about the worst six years in Jewish history. The Nazis slaughtered our nation during its journey to world domination. Six million innocent people were murdered. We have evidence. We have witnesses. We have proof. So why are people denying it?
America: A Force To Be Reckoned With
This devastating loss
For weeks is the top news,
But the assassination of politicians
Is squeezed onto page two.
Distraction On A Board
Picture this; Mr. Smith is driving down on the Brooklyn Bridge, eager to get to work on time. At the corner of his eye, something flashes. He turns to look at an electric billboard. BOOM…CRASH…BANG… he’s been hit. That billboard took more than his attention - it took his life.
God is Always There
God is always there, waiting for you to stretch out your little pinky so that He can tug on it and engulf you in a never-ending warm hug.
“Present and Past”
The following poem was written by Eden Malka, a student at the Yeshivah of Flatbush who will take part in the school’s Witness Theater in honor of Yom HaShoah.
See The Dark
Another tree is down.
I’m driving down Lakewood Avenue, figuring that maybe, just maybe, the tree that blocked the middle of North Lake Drive has been removed, and I can go through. After all, they had a whole day. I’m sure things have been taken care of.
A Letter To My Camper
Dear Ariana,
It was a steep, downhill walk from our bunkhouse to the marquee where we would be lighting Shabbos candles. A weak sun sank lower into the mountains, the sky behind it a hazy yellow with streaks of pink weaving their way through purple accents.
While The Rabbi Slept
Every moment was a gift. I held each one, savoring.
Coffee and Me
I love coffee, but I cannot drink it. This has been the case since my doctor issued the verdict last month - no coffee and no milk. I was quite disappointed to hear that as I love coffee, but I was determined to follow expert medical advice. That conviction, however, did not last more than one week into a new semester with a full course load.
Multitasking: Ability or Inability?
While multitasking is not ideal, it is often necessary and unavoidable.
Audiologist in Training Writes
It's time for finals and I've been studying hard for all of my exams. My favorite class this semester was audiology, and studying more about the field has solidified my decision to pursue audiology as a career.
Where Are You?
How can awareness evolve from exploding stars?
Today I Met Bruce Meyers
Never sacrifice the people who matter for anything of lesser importance...
To Touch the Sky: Jewish Survival Through A Child’s Eyes
"Grandpa," I wondered, as the swing began to slow down, "why are there numbers on your arm?"
Letter From A Soldier
Students in the Lubavitch Senior School in London were asked to recreate a historical event. Miriam Ives, age 15, wrote a letter to a newspaper in the guise of a soldier during the Crimean War.
Come Sit With Me
At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to use it at all.
I had thought the concept was perfect. A rose-colored background, surrounding black encroaching from all sides. It would be a cave of warmth, a hiding place within the darkness.
Twisted Media: The Skinny Truth
I’m going to tell you something that the media doesn’t want you to know. The image of the perfect woman they promote as healthy - That’s not actually that healthy. I mean, we all want to look good and feel good, but the body image that the media shows today is truly horrible.
The Sirota Family and the 20th Century at the Japan Society
I am blessed to live in a tradition filled with many incredible people, but it is rare I actually have the chance to meet a hero.
Walking Up 45 Flights On Shabbat: Being a Jew in Hong Kong
I was entering 3 months in which my connection to my Judaism would be up to me, and I feared I would lose everything.
Connections Built By Disconnections
I look into the flickering flames of the Shabbos candles and I am thankful for the warmth and light that emanates from them and illuminates our home.
Jewish Outreach At Yale University
JLIC campus couples serve as tremendous role models for Jewish students on campus...
More Extracurricular in the Curriculum
Imagine, sitting through nine classes each day, not understanding the material being taught, and failing many subjects. This would be a terrible school experience.
My Zaidy
When I think of how to describe my Zaidy to someone who has never met him, I find myself at a loss. I don’t know how to put my grandfather’s presence into words in a way that will sufficiently describe the picture I have of him in my mind. The fact that my most vivid memories are from when I was quite young make the task no easier. He was, simply, “Zaidy.” Regardless of profession, history or future, he just was.
Hashem’s Power
On October 29th, the verdict was revealed
As we faced what was destined as the Din was sealed
With a storm that echoed the words we know to be true
of B'Rosh Hashanah Yikaseivu.
It’s My Birthright
It is ours. It has always been ours. We can always return because it is a right that we have possessed since birth.
I Won’t Stop For Death; It Will Stop For Me
The importance of death customs has been ingrained in me since birth. When I served as a shomeret for my grandmother, I was instructed not to eat, drink or perform a mitzvah in the same room. In the shock of death, it seemed rather inane to be told it would be considered mocking the dead. My grandmother was gone; she couldn’t do those things because she didn’t exist anymore, a fact that still makes me tear up.
Turbulence
Turbulence.
There is
Turbulence
Up here.
In the air.
True Friends, Traveling 700 Miles
From the gmail statuses and e-mail forwards I get, it seems like everyone has some idea of what true friendship is all about.
The Match That Set The World Ablaze
Watching people a few hundred feet up in the air, walking or bicycling on a string has always astonished me. Regardless of the science behind it (using a long pole as a means of forcing one's center of gravity onto the string) does nothing to subtract from the magnificence of the act.
In Your Hands
The sounds and scents of the kitchen are cozy, familiar, but loud in the silence.