A Jewish boy comes home from school and tells his mother that he’s been cast in the school play. “That’s wonderful. What part do you have?” she asks. The boy says, “I’m playing the part of the Jewish husband!” The mother scowls and says, “Go back and tell the teacher you want a speaking part.” And […]
“And what do you think was going on in the world that needed superheroes?” The docent’s question lingered in the exhibition room. Her charges, a group of high school kids visiting the Jewish Museum in Manhattan did what kids do when put on the spot. They looked at the ceiling, at their shoes, but not […]
This past month, Karnit Goldwasser spent her first wedding anniversary without her bashert. Her beloved wasn’t there to celebrate with his bride. No champagne, no flowers, no romantic dinner. His whereabouts are unknown; his health and safety, a mystery. Thirty-four days of war couldn’t return Udi, as her husband, Ehud, is known, to Karnit. In […]
When I got the email reminding me that there would be a second rally in New York on Sept. 17 to protest the genocide in Darfur, Katyusha rockets were raining down on northern Israel. I have to admit, I thought, who can think of Darfur now? And yet only a few months ago, it had […]
When I was a kid, I was completely fascinated with Christmas trees. I am sure this was because they were off-limits in our house —as in, “There’s no such thing as a Chanukah bush. Period.”My friends’ trees were so beautiful, however, that they were hard to resist. The lights, the glass ornaments, the miniature animals […]
