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Philip Lefkowitz

Jun 25, 2018, 12:14 AM

Is The ACLU Reconsidering Its Role?

The disclosure of an internal memo at The American Civil Liberties Union has questioned whether the ACLU, long the standard bearer for the protection of free speech at all costs, the First Amendment, is considering modifying their position. "Our defense...

Jun 18, 2018, 11:14 PM

The 2,000-year-old synagogue at Gamla, the oldest yet found in Israel.

Under a burning sun, I climb a rocky basalt ridge on the Golan Heights, surrounded by deep gorges, high above the Sea of Galilee, eager to view the ruins of the ancient city of Gamla. There is a fantastic...

Jun 17, 2018, 7:03 AM

Jews Talk Too Much…. But Not Enough to God

In recent visitations away from home, I always try to find the nearest synagogue to walk to on Shabbat. Most recently I attended a bar mitzvah in a Conservative synagogue It was a spacious sanctuary, men and women were permitted...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Jun 15, 2018, 12:43 AM

What goes around comes around

The Haftara from Shmuel Alef, 11:14-12:22 is a good match for Parshat Korach for a few reasons. One reason is that both the Torah and Haftara readings deal with leaders who defend themselves using almost the same words. In Parsha Korach,...

Joseph C. Kaplan

Jun 15, 2018, 12:35 AM

A Two-Way Street Runs through Your Shul

A heated brouhaha rocked my shul recently. The specific dispute is not important for this column (okay, okay, it was, shockingly, related to Trump). While I had, as you might imagine, a strong opinion, which I voiced to the...

Jun 7, 2018, 3:23 PM

Soul Doctor Torah – Parshah Shlach

Everybody asks, why did G-d forgive us for the sin of the Golden Calf and didn't He forgive us for the sin of the spies? In this blog, collected from the teachings of Reb Shlomo who makes a passionate...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

May 31, 2018, 4:21 PM

The Seven Books of the Torah

In Parshat Behaalotcha, we find two verses from Bamidbar 10:35-36 which we have been saying since the 13th century, each time the Torah is removed from the ark and replaced, “Vayehi binsoah ha’aron…”, “When the ark would journey, Moshe...

Shelley S. Hebert

May 29, 2018, 5:57 PM

The Case for Jewish Community Development

Have you ever noticed how preoccupied Jewish organizations are with leadership development? Innumerable programs focus on giving potential leaders the skills and knowledge deemed to be essential for perpetuating the institutions that serve our communities. In my experience, however,...

May 27, 2018, 4:19 PM

Bending the ‘golden rule’ of Jewish organizational leadership

“When you look at the people who run those entities, you’ve got to ask, where are the women? Where are the young people? Where are the Israeli-Americans, the Russian-Americans, the Sefardim, or people with disabilities? Anywhere but the top.” Jay...

Graciela Berger Wegsman

May 26, 2018, 1:28 AM

The Mezuzah that taught me a lesson

I like to talk to the people I see often when I shop in a store. I like to see the same faces, the familiarity that conveys. Usually it is not profound conversation, but sometimes without realizing, it can turn...

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