By the time you read this column it will probably be T-minus 2 days to Purim. Are you panicking yet? Have your shaloach manot been packed? Your Seudah shopping completed? Your costumes picked out? Back in the day, I don’t remember any panicking. Shaloach manot consisted of a few different pieces of elegant cakes, placed in pretty little colored paper cups and a fruit placed in the middle of the plate. more

Don’t fight Jewish students’ battles To the Editor: Neither Kenneth Ryesky’s letter nor Bayla Brenner’s article addressed the substance of the Brooklyn College controversy or offered any meaningful solution to the issue of BDS on campus. more

The fourteenth century poet, John Lyndgate, famously wrote an axiom about one’s inability to please all people all the time. Though this quote is often attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, its roots are much older; older even than Lyndgate in the 1300s. As it turns out, Megillat Esther sends the same message, and this idea frustrates people, like me, who try to make everyone happy. more

Our Moms made a cake, there were bowls of pop corn, potato chips and some type of candy. An over the top party might have had crepe-paper streamers, balloons and maybe even pizza. more

Just as I was thawing out from the last cold spell of single digit temps, along with no heat due to frozen pipes, bam, we get hit with another bout of Arctic air and snow to go with it. more

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Shifra bat Chaim Alter, and Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, and the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam and Moshe Reuven ben Chaya. more

“If a person (‘man’ here is generic) opens a pit, or uncovers a pit, and leaves it uncovered (when not working on it), and an ox or donkey fall into it, the owner of the pit (e.g. the one who opened it) must pay money to the owner of the animal, and the [animal’s] carcass belongs to him.” (21:33-34) Rashbam spells out the debate regarding to whom the carcass belongs – to “who” does “him” refer? more

Sunday mornings for me, even twenty years later, still have a tinge of sadness. While Westerners most often view Sunday morning as the chance to sleep late, relax with the family, and catch up on the news, for most Israeli soldiers it is the most depressing moment of the week. more

Have you ever thought of the many times you have come across the name Hillel? How many people do you know whose name is Hillel? What about the college campus organization Hillel, or the Hillel Houses found on many Ivy League campuses ? And, what about the names of the many schools named Hillel? How about the number of temples and congregations named Hillel? more

I came into the office at 5:30am today to have ample time to attend Ed Koch’s funeral today. Each personal – and public - memory gives me such pause. My first great campaign was for Henry “Scoop” Jackson, when he ran for president. It was then Koch’s fight against the destabilizing concept of “scatter-site” low income housing (we had just moved that year from the South Bronx to Forest Hills) which attracted me to him. I later worked in all 3 mayoral campaigns, had an administration job that I loved and we did many things together over the ensuing 35 years. more