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So You Think You Know How to Play Guitar
Here is a version of George Gershwin's "Summertime" from the opera "Porgy and Bess". This song has served musicians for decades as a vehicle for improvisation. I think that Gershwin would be very impressed by this version:...
President Shimon Peres:Peres emphasized the importance of military service and said that those who serve become better citizens than those who don't, who "lose their way." "If anyone is defending Israel, it's the army," he continued. "The state cannot allow the existence of gaps in recruitment, which endanger the state....
Dubai Police Incriminate Themselves in Mabhouh "Assassination" Tapes
As time passes since the death of arch-terrorist Mahmoud Mabhouh the pronouncements of the Dubai Police get more and more pompous. Dubai's Chief of Police Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim tells us that he wants to arrest Mossad chief Meir Dagan and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in connection with...
I don't blog under the influence...
Dubai Police Nab Top Israeli Spy
From the UAE AlKalb News Service:Hours of scouring closed circuit TV tapes after the Mabhuh assassination has finally payed off for the Dubai police. They managed to capture the Mossad's chief of operations in the Persian Gulf, according to police sources.To make matters worse for Israel, the man was...
How the Nefariousness of the New Israel Fund Was Exposed
BeSheva has an interesting article detailing the Im Tirtzu organization's successful campaign in unmasking wickedness of the New Israel Fund....
Close To Torah
Shabbos – Obtaining Kedushah – Parshas Vayakhel 5770
ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לה’ כל העשה בו מלאכה יומת – Kodesh is given to you. How do you get kedushah only by working six days and the seventh day shall be for you kodesh. It isn’t kodesh just by being sanctified itself,...
Why The Repeat? – A Short Thought on Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei 5770
Every year I struggle with the question of why the Torah found it necessary to dedicate four whole Parshiyos to describing the commandment, building and accounting of the Mishkan? The question always takes me by surprise… Then I search through the Commentators until I find a satisfying answer. This year,...
Springboard – Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei 5770
ויעש את הכיור נחשת ואת כנו נחשת במראֹת הצֹבאֹת… (לח:ח). “He made the basin of copper and its base of copper out of the woman’s mirrors…” (38:8). Rashi quotes the famous words of Chazal that the women brought their mirrors, which they had used in Egypt in order to beautify themselves for...
The Ohr Somayach Pesach Handbook
With Pesach just around the corner, stop cleaning (momentarily, that is) and download the revised Ohr Somayach Pesach Handbook today. With inspiring articles, Halacha and Q/A, it will surely enhance your Pesach. Mothers, it even has an article about cleaning! To download click here: www.ohr.edu/pesachbook Best wishes for a Chag Kasher V’Sameach!...
Moshe’s Shine – Parshas Ki Sisa 5770
“ויהי ברדת משה מהר סיני ומשה לא ידע כי קרן עור פניו בדברו אתו” (שמות לד:כט) “And it was when Moshe descended from Har Sinai… Moshe didn’t know his face shone as he spoke” This Passuk seems a little surprising! At Krias Yam Suf and Har Sinai, the Jewish people reached...
The Best – Parshas Ki Sisa 5770
כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל… (ל:יב). “When you count the Jews…” (30:12). The sin of the Golden Calf, found in this Parsha, brought the Jew’s victorious exodus to a screeching halt. The Torah records the event for us to learn its lesson. I believe that an examination of the contents of the...
William Kolbrener's Blogs
Classical Backgrounds to English Literature
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Early Modern English Literature
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Poetry and Prose of John Milton
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Classical Literary Backgrounds 191
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Literature of the English Renaissance 206
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Jew Wishes
Jew Wishes Re: Sky and Sunflower
Once again it is Sky Watch Friday! I liked the way the clouds in the sky hovered above the sunflower in this photograph, and took it specifically to capture the sky in the frame. To see more Sky Watch Friday photo from around the world, visit here. Shabbat Shalom! ~~~~~~ ©...
Jew Wishes Re: Mornings in Jenin
Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa, is an extremely compelling novel, and one that this reader finds difficult to let go of the images presented by Abulhawa. Mornings in Jenin was so heart-wrenching and illuminating that it is difficult to even write a review of the overwhelming content within the pages,...
Jew Wishes Re: Misty Morn and Blurbs
Once again it is time for Watery Wednesday. My photograph was taken six years ago in Carmel, CA, on an extremely misty morn. To see more watery photos, visit, here. While browsing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), I came across this poignant and compelling story: A Forgotten Suitcase:...
Jew Wishes Re: Rubies and Books
Once again it is time for Ruby Tuesday. I am late in getting my photo in, as I was busy roaming through the book store today, and you can see which one in the photograph above (this is not an advertisement or promotion, but just happens to be what store...
Jew Wishes Re: The Bookseller of Kabul: A Memoir by Asne Seierstad
The Bookseller of Kabul, by Asne Seierstad, is a haunting memoir about Khan, who happens to be a bookseller in Kabul. Yes, he loves books, as a means to survive, not necessarily in order to bring them to the people of Kabul to further their knowledge or interest. For...
Some days there are scenes that stay with us forever…the photograph above is one of those moments in time, for me. The Museum of Family History is an excellent resource for Jewish history and education. Some, but not all, of their content is derived from the Jewish Genealogy website (JewGen)...
Belogski
My second daughter, Tehilloh, is very excited, as in about a month, God willing, she and I will be spending eight days together in Israel. She will become Bat Mitzvah at the end of June, and this trip to Israel, her first, is her special birthday present from...
The place of a non-believing Jew
At a simchah recently, I bumped into the father of an old friend, whom I hadn’t seen for many years. Charlie was always known as a forthright person, and it was good to see that the passage of twenty years hasn’t changed anything. He asked me what...
Ironies and opportunities: reflections on the JFS ruling
Last week, the new Supreme Court of the UK dismissed the appeal of JFS, an Orthodox Jewish school, against a judgment that had branded its admission policy discriminatory. The details of the case (which hinged on how the Law views the unique blend of ethnicity and religion that...
Isn't our meat good enough for you?
A rabbi goes to heaven and is invited to sit at a banquet attended by Moshe himself. He makes a discreet enquiry and discovers that the food is under Divine supervision. The rabbi whispers in a waiter’s ear, ‘I’ll take the fish!’Many people are puzzled by the...
Letter to Jewish Chronicle July 2009
I sent the following letter for publication to the Jewish Chronicle. It appeared in part in today's edition.Dear SirI write to thank Rabbi Tony Bayfield for unequivocally supporting the Chief Rabbi in his attempt to fight the recent Appeal Court ruling against JFS. Rabbi Bayfield’s admirable response illustrates...
JCoSS: not cross-communal; at best non-Orthodox
The imminent opening of JCoSS (Jewish Community Secondary School) has generated unprecedented interest. Adorned with the slogan ‘excellence, choice, openness, inclusion’, its website describes it as ‘the first cross-communal Jewish secondary school in the UK’. JCoSS takes pride in its admissions policy, which ‘will treat on...
Judaism News
Jewish groups upset with Presbyterians
Jewish groups are upset with recent actions by the Presbyterian church regarding its Israel policies....
New Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit brings the Bible to life
For Rabbi Lynn Liberman, the Dead Sea Scrolls are not just a stunning archaeological find or a scholarly puzzle....
Presbyterian Report Offensive Attack on Israel
New York, NY, March 11, 2010 ... The Anti-Defamation League today called a new report from the Presbyterian Church USA on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "a toxic mix of bad history, politically motivated distortions and offensive attacks on Judaism and Israel." The 172-page report, titled "Breaking Down the Walls," was produced...
Mya Guarnieri: On the eve of Passover, Israel has forgotten it is a Jewish state
Pesach is right around the corner. And while Israel will go through the motions of the holiday, it won't reach the spirit of Passover....
Sharansky blasts "sneaky" additions to conversion bill.
Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky on Tuesday joined the chorus of concern and criticism over an Israel Beiteinu conversion bill currently before the Knesset Law Committee....
Lord Alli: A victory for religious freedom
Lord Alli has hit back at claims his plans under Equality Act to force churches to stage gay civil partnership ceremonies will land vicars in court....
A Simple Jew's Blogs
ENGAGE - For a Secure Israel (EFSI)
ENGAGE is a platform for coordinating the activities of anti-disengagement opponents, bloggers and web sites....
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Our children say some pretty goofy things......
Kindness Happens, and we want everyone to know about it. This is a group blog for people to post the kind things that they have done or have experienced from others. If you would like to join in order to be able to post, send an e-mail to...
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אַשְׂכִּילָה בְּדֶרֶךְ תָּמִים...
Rabbi Arthur Segal
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: SOUL THAT GOD PLACED IN ME IS PURE
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: THE SOUL THAT GOD PLACED IN ME IS PURE Shalom: El-o-hai nesh-a-mah shen-at-a-ta be, te-hor-ah hee...''THE SOUL THAT GOD PLACED IN ME IS PURE. '' This is a prayer we Jews...
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: MORE ON SONG OF SONGS + PASSOVER: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: MORE ON SONG OF SONGS + PASSOVER: JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWALRe: Query on Shir Ha ShirimThe linkage between Pesach and Shir Ha Shirim is introduced many times in different Midrashim, but it is stated in Machzor Vitri, ^^^ Hilkhot Pesach, passage 106, that the Minhag is...
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH RENEWAL: reap in accordance with kindness
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH RENEWAL: reap in accordance with kindness Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 3/20/10; A Path of Transformation. The Jewish Spiritual Renewal class is sponsored by Shamash dot org a service of Hebrew College Yeshiva. Shalom once again my dear Chaverim...
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: ECO-JUDAISM: reap in accordance with kindness
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: ECO-JUDAISM: reap in accordance with kindness Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 3/20/10; A Path of Transformation. The Jewish Spiritual Renewal class is sponsored by Shamash dot org a service of Hebrew College Yeshiva. Shalom once again my dear Chaverim ...
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUALITY: reap in accordance with kindness
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: JEWISH SPIRITUALITY: reap in accordance with kindness Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 3/20/10; A Path of Transformation. The Jewish Spiritual Renewal class is sponsored by Shamash dot org a service of Hebrew College Yeshiva. Shalom once again my dear Chaverim...
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:reap in accordance with kindness
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:reap in accordance with kindness Jewish Spiritual Renewal:Shabbat 3/20/10; A Path of Transformation. The Jewish Spiritual Renewal class is sponsored by Shamash dot org a service of Hebrew College Yeshiva. Shalom once again my dear Chaverim ...
NYT > Jews and Judaism
Wartime Pope Has a Huge Fan: A Jewish Knight
Gary Krupp is credited with breaking a logjam in a debate over whether Pope Pius XII did as much as he could have to save Jews from the Holocaust....
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A Jewish Ritual Collides With Mother Nature
This year’s snowstorms have made observance of a ritual boundary known as an eruv difficult for Orthodox Jews....
Reminding Egyptians of a time when Jews were a natural part of Egyptian society is important....
Haunted by What Dad Did in the War
The sins of the father weigh heavily and sometimes scarcely at all in the documentary “Harlan In the Shadow of ‘Jew Süss.’ ”...
Jewish Film Festival Grows to Extravaganza
Films will be shown from eight countries, in languages including sign, that relate to Jewish history or culture or storytelling....
Profit Motive
Despite Much to Kvetch About, They’re Happy
My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary earlier this year. This occasion marked the end of our shana rishona, the yearlong “honeymoon” period that our rabbis warn us is anything but. It’s a time of solidifying the relationship, learning to compromise, and adjusting to a spouse’s idiosyncrasies. For Orthodox...
Touro College Founder Passes At 94
Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, the visionary founder and president of Touro College, which he grew from 35 students to a global network of 29 schools educating 17,500 students in New York, California, Nevada, Florida, Israel, Russia, Germany and France, died Monday of congestive heart failure at a New York hospital....
Will Mobile Giving Take Off In The Jewish World?
Over the course of the past year, a group of volunteers affiliated with The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) Next Gen initiative has been looking into launching a mobile giving campaign. When an earthquake devastated Haiti last month, suddenly the race was on to get it up and running...
Michigan’s New Israel Investment
At 1:45 a.m. on a recent weeknight, a group of 27 Jewish students gathered in the main auditorium at University of Michigan’s Hillel. Instead of breaking out the beer, they video-conferenced with Nir Elperin, vice president of Arba Finance, a venture capital firm in Tel Aviv. A split-screen projected on the...
A Philanthropist Crunches The Numbers
Some philanthropists focus on Jewish continuity. Others devote themselves to promoting Jewish educational opportunities. Mandell (Bill) Berman, a Jewish philanthropist based in suburban Detroit, gives generously to both of the aforementioned causes. But what makes him unique among Jewish philanthropists is his love of data, particularly Jewish data. “I’m the only...
‘Green’ Groups Pulling In Green
This has been a good year for Jewish Farm School, an environmental education organization that aims to reconnect Jews with the joys of working the land and growing their own food. Last summer, JFS was one of two start-ups selected to join Bikkurim, the New York-based incubator that provides its resident...
Judaism
President Obama's Rosh Hashanah Message
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country President Obama's Rosh Hashanah message: As members of the Jewish faith here in America and around the world gather to celebrate the High Holidays, I want to extend my warmest wishes for this New Year. L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu—may you have a good year, and may you...
Obama's Ramadan Dinner Included Prominent Jewish Guests
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country Interesting that President Obama's Ramadan dinner last night included a handful of prominent Jews. Some Jewish leaders have complained that Obama's outreach to the Muslim world has included snubbing Israel and giving short shrift to certain Jewish concerns. Jewish Americans as identified on the guest list...
Did Obama Jump the Gun on Rosh Hashana?
By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers You know how Republicans sometimes whine that if President Bush and his aides had taken some of the kinds of moves President Obama and his associates have, the critics would be on the Bushies like white on rice? Well, they might have a good case with...
Obama's First White House Sit-Down With Jewish Leaders Today
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country Politics Daily reports that President Obama will have his first White House sit-down with American Jewish leaders today, an event that doesn't appear on the president's public schedule. "[W]hile some domestic issues are expected to be discussed," Lynn Sweet reports, "Iran's nuclear threat and Obama's...
Some Jews Say Obama's 'Muslim Speech' Undersold Israel's History
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country Some Jewish criticism of Obama's speech to the Muslim world has centered on a grievance that's gotten little notice outside of Israel: that Obama wrongly rooted Israel's right to exist in Jewish suffering during the Holocaust, ignoring the Jews millennia-long struggle to control what they...
Holocaust Museum Shooting Threatens to Undermine Right's Pro-Religion Image
www.usnews.com/usnews/photography/holocaust_museum_shooting/bigpicture.phpBy Dan Gilgoff, God & Country The political right likes to portray itself as the defender of religious values, the nation's religious heritage, and religion per se against the secular liberal onslaught. Look no further than former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's speech this week at the Republican Senate-House Dinner. Gingrich urged...
Kesher Talk
My Personal Oscars, and a Razzie or Two
The Oscars are kicking off at this very moment, so this the right moment to share some thoughts on films, new and old. I don't have anything original to say about movies competing tonight. I liked "The Blind Side" for its depiction of Southern culture -- guns, God and gridiron...
An Entry in the Museum of Bad Art's Iterpretator Challenge
The Museum of Bad Art in Massachusetts is a little-known treasure of American culture. It challenges notions of good and bad in art, and makes the viewer stop and think, seriously, about what makes a work of art interesting, challenging, or plain ridiculous. It recently closed the submission period...
Obama and the Press: Get Ready for the Comeback Kid
With all the frothing over the problems of the Democrats and the sudden reversal of fortune for the GOP after last week's election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate from Massachusetts, let's step back and take the long view. As a former member of the press, I've been around journalism...
Unsettling Reading: Ethnic Cosmetic Surgery
From the endless surprises of free publications of New York street distribution, I plucked the December-January issue of New York City Image: The Magazine for Enhanced Beauty & Wellness. The cover photo of Brooke Shield (Princeton '89) got my attention and I took a look. One article especially unsettled me, and...
Plucky Marketers Sneak the Voice of the Proletariat into the Streets of NYC
One of my more illuminating experiences at Princeton came during my sophomore year, when I moved into a six-man suite in 1938 Hall. The previous occupants had a subscription to a newspaper called the Workers Vanguard. It always amused me with its rants and raves, always ending with strident appeals...
New Year's Resolutions: The More Things Change . . .
In August 1986 I received a hand-bound blank book from my dear friend Rena Frank. I knew her through Dorot, a program for the Jewish elderly in New York. Rena and I were friends from 1980 until she died in 1994. Born in Berlin, she escaped Germany in 1938 for...
Cross-Currents
The Torah itself establishes Judaism as a deeply role-based faith. There is a role for a Cohein, a role for a Levi, roles for men and roles for ... Read More >>...
Agudath Israel Commends RCA Leaders
Upon consultation with its rabbinic leadership, Agudath Israel of America issued the following statement today: Hamodia reports that Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, First Vice-President of the Rabbinical Council of America, has clarified that the RCA “in no way endorses the title ‘maharat’ or the ‘maharat’ program under the direction of Rabbi Avi...
Upon consultation with its rabbinic leadership, Agudath Israel of America issued the following statement today: The leadership of the Rabbinical Council of America and Rabbi Avi Weiss have apparently reached agreement that Rabbi Weiss would no longer confer the title of “Rabba” upon graduates of his women’s seminary, but rather the...
by Dovid Landesman I have often speculated to myself whether cynicism, of which I have been blessed with an inordinate amount, is in any way an exemplary or positive middah and I should thus try to direct it toward positive use, or if it might not be just another disguise employed...
A Holocaust Story of a Different Sort
“Yesterday,” he said, “someone came from Parabek, and told us ‘Simcha umar,’ that Simcha had died. And so I volunteered to bury ... Read More >>...
Particularism, Idiots, and the Future of the State of Israel
I have so little athletic ability, that I can’t be a good Monday morning quarterback – not even weeks later. Despite all that people have written – including most of my friends – I cannot fault the campaign that attempted to stop the execution of Martin Grossman. Moreover, I...
Judaism: News & Videos about Judaism - CNN.com
Egyptian government restores historic synagogue
With just a few dozen Jews left in Egypt and a public that's deeply critical of Israel, Cairo is not the most obvious staging ground for a government-funded restoration of an historic synagogue....
Man hurls bomb at Egyptian synagogue
A man hurled a makeshift bomb at Egypt's main synagogue Sunday morning, but no injuries or damage were reported....
'Serious Man' actor laughs at darkness
Michael Stuhlbarg didn't know which way his life would turn....
More than 1,000 get mumps in New York, New Jersey since August
More than 1,000 people in New Jersey and New York, many of them adolescent Orthodox Jews, have been sickened with mumps since August, health authorities said Monday....
Pope visits synagogue, calls for dialogue
Pope Benedict XVI visited the main Jewish synagogue in Rome on Sunday, a trip that unfolded amid heightened tension between Catholics and Jews....
Pope stuck in 'Groundhog Day' scenario with Jews, expert says
Pope Benedict XVI is set to take one step forward in Catholic-Jewish relations Sunday when he becomes the first pope since 1986 to visit the main Jewish synagogue in Rome, Italy....
Jacob Da Jew
Life is about quality, not quantity. You can buy me a warehouse full of fresh baked bread and this little loaf of challah would mean more to me.Its because my little princess made it just for me. She called it "Pizza for Daddy", doused it in sesame seeds and served...
Have no fear,'Da Jew is still here. I'm sure y'all were oh so worried where I disappeared to, based on all the (none-existent) emails received.Anyways....Another year passed and it wuz time for the grand ole celebration: my birthday!This birthday, people have been especially generous to me.D.S. got me a great...
The search, quest, whatever you want to call it. It's ovah.Da Gurlie has been accepted to a great school!We've been to 2 schools since this post. The first one was absolutely brutal and nasty like the others. The second school interview went very well and we received a letter of...
How things have changed.Used to be, quite a few hits and page-views were from other bloggers "Blogrolls". Not so lately.Now, with the widespread use of Google Reader and other RSS feeds, blog rolls are almost extinct.Used to be, in order to check up on a fellas blog, you needed to...
Special Mazal Tov & Mabrook #1 to Lion of Zion, Mrs. LOZ and Jr. on the birth of a baby girl. Special Mazal & Mabrook #2 to my good friends Child Ish and Mak on their engagement to...each other! Child Ish and Mak were honored guests in my home a...
Received a couple of emails that I am invited to post some thoughts about the Jewish Music Awards.I am honored to be included in the same company as Chaim Rubin, Gruntig, Jewish Blogmeister and other illustrious Jewish Music Bloggers.Wow. However....People who know me, and that includes longtime readers, remember that...
DovBear
A Jostled Princess, a Heavy Crown
A guest post by TikunOlamDovBear pointed me in the direction of an interesting article printed in today's NYT.A Jostled Princess, a Heavy CrownBy MARTIN FACKLERPublished: March 11, 2010It discusses the royal family of Japan. DB posed a few questions on twitter to myself (a clinical psychologist) and @aspacewithin (a...
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A Different Rabbi's Perspective on Orthopraxy
A Guest Post By E. FinkRabbi Steven Pruzansky is making headlines with his front page Jewish Press article in which he thoroughly disposes of Orthopraxy and ousts the Orthoprax from Modern Orthodoxy.For a thorough fisking of the main parts of the article go to XGH's blog, this is his area...
Glenn Beck, A** Clown Extraordinaire
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c Sour Gropes www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Reform ...
Old and new interpretations of the golden calf story
Briefly, the ancient interpreters read the Golden Calf story this way: After becoming concerned (via the instigation of Janes and Jambres) that Moshe would not return from Sinai, the people went to Hur and demanded a new leader. Hur said no, and was killed. When Aaron saw this he feared not...
Update to my post about the sorcerers and their supposed role in building the golden calf. Dating of the Jannes and Jambres texts Testament of Solomon is an OT apocrypha written in Greek which Kugel puts in the first century BCE Timothy was written by Paul, or by one of his disciples which puts it...