Each night of Hannukah, we ritually place the lit Hannukiah in the window, one that opens to the outside world. The rabbis of the Talmud called this, “pirsumei nisa.” We are meant to publicize the miracle of Hannukah, a spiritual and military victory in which the Jews rededicated a defiled and desecrated Temple in the […]
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Even though he is the subject for dozens of books, released 40 albums (not counting the 17 volumes in the “Bootleg Series” and the nearly 20 officially released live albums), and has appeared in or been the subject of a dozen movies, Bob Dylan remains one of the most emotionally opaque performers. Arguably one of […]
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Antiochus Epiphanesdeclared: “Let’s sacrifice a pig,”and in the holy sanctuariestook steps to be the biggest wig,far greater than the Jewish Godwho hates the smell and taste of swine,declaring thus the first jihadagainst the Jews of Palestine. The Maccabees were very brave,abhorring gifts of pagan porkers;like Britons, none would be a slave,these ancestors of most New […]
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“We are in a historic time,” he began. Decrying the holding of hostages and the “deplorable evil” of brutality of Israel’s enemies, looking into the eyes of the soldiers standing in formation around him, the commander invoked the faithful fighters of our people’s past. “We are not alone,” he then thundered, voice rising with emotion. […]
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The first thing I got wrong in 2024 was the war in Gaza, which I saw as a “forever war” with diminishing returns. After the first ceasefire and return of some 100 Israeli hostages one month into the war, I became obsessed with a repeat. I allowed my skepticism of Bibi’s intentions—the longer he would […]
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The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced on Dec. 20 that it has reached a resolution agreement with five UC campuses — one of which is UCLA — over complaints that the universities failed to adequately respond to instances of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination based on Israeli, Palestinian and Arab ancestry. The […]
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I was visiting a Christian hospital the other day that glittered with Christmas decorations. The whole vibe was in the Christmas spirit, except for one thing. Instead of “Merry Christmas,” people kept wishing me, “Happy Holidays!” Maybe because the person I was with introduced me as a Jew (“he’s with the Jewish Journal”), people didn’t […]
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It is a savage crime that haunts the Jewish people to this day. And it never should have happened. Joseph’s brothers, enraged by envy, decide to murder him, only to change course at the last minute and sell him into a lifetime of slavery. Joseph certainly had provoked them; he was clearly his father’s favorite, […]
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On Hanukkah 1932, just prior to the elections that would bring Hitler to power, Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, took this photo of the family’s Hanukkah menorah from the window ledge of her home. The view from the window was a building across the road, decorated with Nazi flags. On the back […]
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“My grandfather led his congregation into the gas chamber,” Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie says in “Sabbath Queen,” a new documentary about Lau-Lavie’s life. “A rabbi doesn’t leave his congregation.” Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lau died with his people in Treblinka. In the film, Lau says he would see a picture of his grandfather and when he thought […]
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