Once upon a time, the great Napoleon paid a state visit to Russia. Proud of the enlightened way his country, France, treated its Jewish population, he asked to see some Russian Jews. His hosts brought him to a St. Petersburg synagogue. Entering the synagogue lit by only a few flickering candles, they found it filled...
I love puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, acrostics, Sudoku, logic puzzles…a book full of puzzles even keeps me somewhat content on a cross-country flight. I am telling you this to put into perspective my answer to a question that came to our Ask the Rabbi column. Matt asked, “I’m always wondering why your family never...
It was on a clear but cold winter afternoon that I landed at JFK Airport on my first visit to the United States. After clearing customs and immigration and being granted a three week tourist visa, I climbed into a taxi on my way to my Manhattan hotel. Half an hour later, as the sun...
It is helpful to discover that the child who seems irrationally scared of dogs was once bitten by a snarling mongrel. Knowing that Moslem forces were defeated when their siege of Vienna was repulsed on September 11th, 1683, helps make sense of their September 11, 2001 attack on the United States. The past should not...
