Jewish Blogs

Barry Bremen – The Great Impostor

Trivia question: Who accepted the 1985 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress on a television drama?If you answered a 6-foot-4 Jewish insurance salesman from West Bloomfield, Michigan then you’ve obviously heard of Barry Bremen. Barry Bremen, known as “The Great Impostor” died yesterday from esophageal cancer on his 64th birthday.Growing up in Metro Detroit, I watched Barry Bremen’s antics with ...

Barack Obama, George W. Bush and a big Talmudic Irony

George W. Bush, the cowboy, hunted down and sent Saddam Hussein off for trial, to meet vengeance following the rule of law, followed by a sanctioned hanging.Barack H. Obama, the moral beacon, ordered a hit on Osama bin Laden, hunted and killed him, no trial, no rule of law, to meet pure raw vengeance, with a bullet to the head.Possibility ...

Bar Mitzvah Lessons in Cyberspace

Why shlepp your kid to the synagogue for her bat mitzvah lessons when she can dial in virtually?A recent article in the New York Times shows how the tech savvy bar mitzvah tutors have taken to the Web to make the process more convenient for them and their students.If dating, shopping and watching TV can be revolutionized by the Internet, ...

Bar Mitzvah

In some places, bar and bat mitzvahs are rivaled only by proms as the most important social event in many teens lives. Parties celebrating the occasion can range from humble cookies-and-punch receptions to lavish catered affairs with elaborate themes and celebrity guests. But more important, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs are serious religious ceremonies, with rich histories and deep significance ...

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Etiquette for Teens

When I was twelve-years-old I took part in a Joe Cornell dance class with just about every other Jewish teen my age in Metro Detroit to prepare for the bar and bat mitzvah circuit. When my mother was twelve she also learned to dance from Joe Cornell. It’s something of a Detroit tradition.While Joe Cornell has been retired for many ...

Baptist Minister Mohler Comments on the Time Magazine Rob Bell Cover Story

Traditionally in the US, the Easter season provides an occasion for elevated public discourse on theological topics.For those who want to know what is a hot topic, just check out Time Magazine. Baptist Minister Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention, comments at length on the Time Magazine Rob ...

Back to the Freelance Grind

Remember that fab new job I started over the summer promoting Georgia history? Well, it’s history as of Friday.Not quite sure what happened, as I had some what I consider several successes in attracting statewide media coverage to the organization in the five months I was there, but apparently there were other factors involved that remain opaque. All I can ...

Baal Teshuvas love bacon

One of my favorite pastimes is getting baalei teshuva to talk about the forbidden things of their former lives that they miss so much and rarely does anything elicit the same response as talking about food, specifically bacon.If you ever want to see an extremely animated discussion ask either of the following questions to some BT’s “what do you miss ...

Baal Teshuva Finishing School

Welcome to BT finishing school. Most of you are here because your friends, family or in some cases Rabbeim have paid for your tuition. They feel you are ready to integrate into normal frum society. Many Baalei Teshuvos like yourselves have been frum for many years. Your peers feel that you need that little bit of extra knowledge. They are, ...

Autumnal Challah Deliciousness

I just had a brilliant idea. Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast made with Pumpkin Challah.I don’t have that much more to say about this. I’m too busy clearing my calendar for Sunday morning so I can make it and report back. The only question is how I’m going to keep my drooling from being a problem over the next four days…Read ...

Auschwitz Survivor’s Jewish Grandson Evan Kaufmann Plays For Germany’s National Hockey Team

One year ago today I waited in line to enter the Reichstag. The moment wasn’t lost on me. Almost seventy years prior, the Nazi government made every effort to wipe my people off the face of this earth. And there I was, with a dozen other American rabbis, about to walk into the historic Berlin building that is the seat ...

Attention Rabbis: Stop With The Rosh Hashanah Mussar Already

I can barely tolerate shul on the best of days, but Elul has got to be the worst. Every Rabbi (ok, 99%) tries to put you in the holiday spirit by telling you what’s wrong with yourself/the Jewish people/the world/etc.Enough already! I don’t want to hear your guilt trips. Give me some encouragement, or, if you weren’t trained to do ...