The great violinist Itzhak Perlman contracted polio at the age of four, and for his entire life he had to wear metal braces and use crutches to walk. One time, the great violinist came out on stage, and as he was tuning his violin, one of the strings snapped. Instead of asking for another string, […]
Years ago, I was sitting innocently on a bus with Tanach (Bible) in hand when a man began to educate me on what he saw as the Bible’s mistakes. He believed Saul, the first king of Israel, was cheated: he was the better man and should never have lost his throne to David – David […]
Dear Jew in the City- Why do we ask God to remember us on Rosh Hashanah? It’s not like God forgets things. Thanks, Eitan Dear Eitan- Thanks for your question, though my reply will probably have less to do with Rosh Hashana than you were expecting. It has more to do with grammar. Obviously, we […]
A number of friends have mentioned that they are dreading Rosh Hashanah. Their general sense of overwhelm has made preparing for the holiday—spiritually or physically—exhausting. Looking back at this past year depresses them. Cynicism leads them to expect 5781 will be worse than 5780. It doesn’t help that due to the novel coronavirus, a lot […]
That honey bear and you go way back, and you’ve been eating granny smith apples since you were a kid, but even if your knowledge goes as far as Clover vs. Orange Blossom, Honey Crisp or Pink Lady vs. Fuji, you might not have tried some of the varieties we’ve found to enliven your Rosh […]
Dear JITC- There’s a woman in my community who I used to be pretty friendly with. Then something changed. She’s not mean to me, but she seems to be keeping her distance even as I try to continue to reach out to her. As we approach the High Holidays, I’m thinking about making amends with […]
