Dealing With Mamdani

Think back to the beginning of June, when we were mourning the deadly attack in Colorado, after an antisemitic terrorist had firebombed a Jewish rally there calling for release of the Israeli hostages. We were watching for signs of progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran over that country’s nuclear capability. Oh, and […]

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Sephardic Torah from the Holy Land

Halakha and ethics: a case study. There was a custom in Damascus in the 17th century, that for the purposes of tax assessment, the properties of the wealthy were evaluated up to 3000 grushim (the currency at that time), thereby creating a situation that any properties or financial holdings above 3000 grushim were tax exempt. […]

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Life Lessons at the DMV

Life is a labyrinth of challenges we have to learn to navigate. There are days when we get lost, and remembering that everything will be okay feels impossible. When every turn seems wrong and the walls feel so tall that we can’t see the silver lining behind the clouds; staying optimistic is hard. Through trials, […]

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Schumer Flips on Antisemitism

Israeli ambassador Abba Eban was greeted by an irritating sight when he rose to speak in Harvard University’s Sanders Hall on a chilly Tuesday evening in the autumn of 1970. A group of anti-­Israel extremists in the gallery had unfurled a banner denouncing “Zionist imperialists” and tried to shout Eban down when he began to […]

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NYC Muslim Mayor Blues

New York City is where the cultural coordinates for the phrase “New York Jew” originated and where the people fitting that description can still be found. Outside of Israel, it is the most Jewish city in the world. The five boroughs introduced seltzer, bagels, deli and Middle East cuisine—even the clandestinely Jewish sitcom “Seinfeld”—to the […]

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Sephardic Torah from the Holy Land

These past few weeks have been a surreal experience. Wednesday night, June 11, Peni and I boarded an El Al flight from Israel to Miami, followed by a flight to Panama. We travelled to celebrate the wedding of Isaac and Perla. I was at Isaac’s Brit Milah, I officiated his Bar Mitzvah, and he was […]

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