Jewish Blogs

Is BVO Kosher?

The Times reports on the possible health issues of BVO, an additive found in Gatorade and other drinks. According to Jewish law, the chemical is kosher. But given the health risks, we don’t think anyone should consume it.We are told that, “about 10 percent of drinks sold in the United States contain brominated vegetable oil, including Mountain Dew, also made ...

95 Lives: A Film You Should Know About

Ever wanted to learn more about an amazing, captivating, female pioneer only to find the story undocumented, or worse, simply buried? That’s what happened to me when I discovered the work of Jewish American photographer Helen Levitt. I am making a film to fill that gaping hole. 95 Lives uncovers Helen Levitt’s legendary career documenting NYC streets for 70 years and transforming ...

Yosef: Metrosexual of the Torah

All the signs are there. The primping of the hair. The eyeliner. The channeling of Alice Cooper with a disco perm. The man chosen to represent klal Yisroel, ushering the Tribe from the days of our forefathers and onto the birth of Moshe rabeinu. A metrosexual all the way.We’re only left to ask ourselves: did they wax or thread eyebrows back ...

Our Great Grandfather Harris Epstein the Inventor

I am named after my great-grandfather, Harris (Tzvee) Epstein, aka, Epstein the Inventor, who lived in New York City and Spring Valley. I probably inherited my technical curiosity from him.He was the inventor and patent holder of many practical items, a folding umbrella, an extension ladder, a double sided toothbrush, a vegetable grater and more. Here are of his patents with their links ...

Rosa Parks and Hanukkah: Why Ignorance Isn’t Always Bliss

On the Thursday night before Hanukkah began, I attended an event called A Sip of Eser, an introductory session to the ten-part young adult learning program Eser (meaning 10) run by Hebrew College in nearby Newton, MA. Amidst the tumult of a Boston bar, and alongside several dozen people I had never met, I heard rabbinical student, Seth Wax, tell a Hanukkah story none ...

Chanukah, Vayeishev and Mikeitz

Why does Chanukah always fall out during the parshiot of Vayeishev or Mikeitz? The midrash in Mikeitz tells us that Hashem had a master plan. He wanted Yosef to be imprisoned for two years. Therefore, he caused Pharoh to have a dream, so Yosef would be freed in a natural way. This is contrary to what we would think – that Pharoh had a ...

Best Hanukkah Videos of 2012

Hanukkah, Hanukah or Chanukkah… no matter how you spell it there’s one thing you can be certain of when Hanukkah arrives and that is that there will be no shortage of fun Hanukkah videos on YouTube. Since posting my list of the top Hanukkah videos the past couple years I now receive dozens of videos to include in my list. ...

Chanukah 2012: The Survival of the Celebration

The holiday of Chanukah is celebrated annually to commemorate the rededication of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem which took place in December 164 BCE. On the third anniversary of the Temple’s defilement through pagan sacrifice at the hands of Jewish Hellenizers, the Temple was restored to pristine Jewish worship of God in accordance with the Torah’s commands. This reversal of ...

What is The Secret Life of Girls Around the World?

At the NOW (National Organization for Women) conference I attended in June, playwright Eve Ensler delivered the keynote speech. Ensler, who is featured in JWA’s online exhibit Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution, was a riveting speaker whose passionate words truly rallied me to action. I’ve been hoping to see one of her plays ever since. Luckily, her newest show Emotional Creature: The Secret ...

The Miracle of Matisyahu

Kind of crushing on Matisyahu right now. (In a totally tzniut way, of course.)After years and years and years of suffering through the cheesiness of “I Have A Little Dreidel” and Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song,” Judaism’s reggae superstar has given us not one but TWO holiday jams all our own:Last year, he gave us “Miracle,” not only dance worthy but deeply representative ...

Nechemya Weberman: Rapist or Victim?

I’ve been back to blogging for a week and my new goal of avoiding Jewish websites, blogs and news outlets almost worked.The Weberman trial, though, is too hard to ignore. If it was a white collar fraud case I would just throw it into the bin of “frum guys caught cheating on their taxes and making a small chillul hashem ...

Is Science Fiction Jewish?

It’s a fair question. Is science fiction Jewish?Some bloggers say yes, science fiction, is Jewish!The Exploring Our Matrix blog brings up the question in this way, “Is the Oldest Science Fiction in the Talmud?”The basis for the question is this text from the Talmud (b. Menahot 29b) which presents Moses as a time traveler.Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When ...