The New York Times Finds The Deeper Side of Purim & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

Yeshiva University Punished Itself in NCAA Tourney Loss
Yeshiva University’s first trip to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball Tournament was brief, and it didn’t include one of its best players. The Orthodox Jewish school from Washington Heights, which drew acclaim on a variety of platforms after winning the Skyline Conference, fell to York (Pa.) College, 81-67, on Friday afternoon, when Yeshiva played without sophomore forward Bar Alluf, its second leading scorer.

Why More Orthodox Jews Are Going to AIPAC
AIPAC does not divide its 18,000 attendees by religious denomination, but delegates to the conference say the Orthodox contingent is growing. While the Orthodox don’t make up a majority of conference participants this year, Orthodox Jewish leaders and laypeople say their rising numbers at the event are a sign that they are translating long-held sentiments into political power. AIPAC’s newly installed president, Morton Fridman, belongs to a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Q&AA: Sarah Hofstetter is Vocal on Voice
Sarah Hofstetter is the global CEO of 360i, a full-service digital-first agency, among other things. In this preview of an upcoming Ad Age “Ad Lib” podcast, we cover the agency’s new Amazon practice, the future of voice, kosher restaurants in Cannes and more. Our conversation has been edited.

Purim Is a Sacred Jewish Holiday — and a Wild Two-Day Party
There may be more fun holidays on the calendar than the 48-hour Jewish celebration of Purim, which ended March 1, but not many. Orthodox Jewish communities tend to be in full party mode, with children wearing rabbinical beards or flamboyant costumes. But Mark Abramson, who spent this Purim taking photographs in two very different Hasidic neighborhoods in Brooklyn, said he also experienced something deeper.

New York Welcomes its First Kosher Ramen Restaurant
As someone who abstains from non-kosher meat, I had never experienced the real thing: A nourishing bowl of meat-based broth brimming with wheat noodles and seasonal vegetables. That all changed a few days ago when I visited Boru Boru. Located on New York’s Upper West Side, Boru Boru offers the city’s first kosher-certified ramen. Instead of the pork and seafood that often provides ramen’s base flavors, their broths are made from chicken, soy sauce, miso, and other umami-laden flavor builders.

From Tibet to Vietnam, A Kosher Quest
A truck pulls up and out steps Rabbi Akiva Padwa, director of certification and senior rabbinical coordinator for the KLBD. This rabbi will go to any lengths, and packs in thousands of air miles in order to supervise the food.

The Smartest Basketball Mind Outside the NBA
Ben Falk is a lot of things: a Hinkie disciple, a 29-year-old basketball savant, an observant Orthodox Jew, and the creator of one of the best basketball sites on the Internet. Is he content being the smartest man outside the NBA?

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