Author: Mark Hershlag

(JTA) — This week, the New York State Board of Regents signed off on new rules about how the state will determine if private schools offer instruction that is similar to that offered in public schools. Although the rules apply to all private schools, religious and not, they are at the center of a debate […]

(JTA) — Max Glass, a recent immigrant from Hungary, had an unhappy Civil War.  Tricked out of his enlistment bonus when he joined the Eighth Connecticut Infantry — recent arrivals were soft touches for scam artists — Glass was then “abused for reason [sic] that I never understand” by men in his regiment. “It may […]

(JTA) — Seventy-eight years ago this week, David Ben-Gurion rose before the Asefat Hanivcharim, Palestine Jewry’s elected assembly, and delivered an explosive “j’accuse” against the Allies for abandoning Europe’s Jews during the Holocaust. The words of the man who would soon be Israel’s first prime minister take on added significance in view of the upcoming […]

(JTA and New York Jewish Week) — On Sunday, the New York Times reported on the dismal state of secular education at many Hasidic yeshivas. For us, to quote a famous New York Yankee, it felt like déjà vu all over again. The Times’ investigation found that despite being subject to regulations mandating an education […]

(JTA) — I am one of those people who gobble up films and television shows about the royal family almost as soon as they come out. And yet, watching “The Crown,” my thoughts would run like this: “This is great television,” I would say after nearly every episode. “But remind me again why I should […]

(JTA) — I have been shocked lately by the number of my friends who have left synagogues because of a pattern of unkind remarks from rabbinic and volunteer leaders. A Jew-by-choice belittled. A twenty-something shamed. A professional demeaned.  Jewish Twitter is full of accounts by Jews by choice or Jews of color who have been […]

(JTA) — What are the constitutional limits on government regulation of religious private schools? The question looms large given last week’s decision by New York State’s Board of Regents to approve new regulations proposed by the New York State Education Department, known as NYSED. Although they are intended for all “nonpublic” schools, the regulations are […]

(JTA) — When I traveled to Poland shortly after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, I met a young mother who, with her baby, fled Kyiv without her husband. More than baby food and a roof over her head, she needed a support system and community to navigate all that would come next. With the […]

(JTA) — One of the centerpieces of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Avinu Malkeinu” prayer — Our Father, Our King. It’s a desperate and emotional appeal for forgiveness, set to powerful melodies over the centuries.  It’s also a hurdle for many people, regular and occasional synagogue-goers alike. Some can’t relate to […]

(JTA) — It is rare that one can say attending a funeral was an uplifting experience. Yet the funeral Thursday for Judah Samet — teacher of Torah at his Tree of Life synagogue, possessor of a unique and vigorous voice and sense of humor, veteran of the paratroop division of the Israeli army, lover of […]