Jewish Blogs

The most annoying frum Jews

There are a lot of different sects and sub groups within orthodoxy and some of them are quite annoying, this post came out of the idea I had to write about whether Messianic (Yechi) chabadnicks or Nannach Bresslovers were more annoying, but then I realized that there are loads of others that can make the list.Nanach Bresslovers: I can understand that ...

The modern Haggadah: New voices and the reactionary

This year I tried something new at my family’s Seder. We used a new Haggadah! After researching various Haggadot, I picked: The Wandering is Over Haggadah: Including Women’s Voices, created by www.Jewishboston.com, and the Jewish Women’s Archive in Brookline, MA. These two organizations represent my liberal Jewish values, and the voices of various Jews, including Jewish women. I thought talking about women’s rights’ as ...

The Mike’s Always On

The British election campaign just ended would seem an unlikely source for a Torah teaching moment, but there it was.One of the blows the Labour Party absorbed in the days preceding the election was precipitated by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s mistaken assumption on April 28 that the microphone he was wearing during a campaign stop was turned off.Read more: @ cross-currents.comTags: Mic, Mike’s ...

The Matzah House

Last year, I attempted to break (set) the record for the fastest time to eat a piece of matzah. I almost died, but nevertheless, I’m still a world record holder. As the saying goes, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the game. (video below)I thought I was pretty hardcore with my matzah games. But I have been ...

The masochistic foodie in me

My stomach is growling, I can totally sit here on the gravel parking lot and eat a can of chili as a marvel at my mud speckled legs and just relax, but I’m in Napa and I want to eat good food, I know I can’t eat anything here, but the masochist in me pushes me into my car and ...

The Magic Words

I don’t know about you , but I remember being very confused by certain words as a kid. Certain words seemed to be magic words that could mean just about anything. Like Mitzvah. My mother told me to sit by the Shabbos table and keep quiet when guests were over because it was a Mitzvah.That got confusing when my Rebbi ...

The Magic Returns to Motown

Dan Gilbert, Brian Hermelin and Josh Linkner are three Jewish entrepreneurs in Metro Detroit who have teamed up to invest some venture capital into companies in an effort to rebuild the City of Detroit. Gilbert is the founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, which is now headquartered in Downtown Detroit where he has been buying up business real estate properties ...

The Machers Among Us

That’s right. There something even more insidious than Orthoprax Jews in our lives. And like the Prax, it tries to inject it’s poison into all of us. It already has your mother. And it’s coming to pick up your daughter tonight.Oh, no, you say, My family is safe. Why, I make sure none of us carries more than 3 keys on a ...

The little Jewish community that could

I can’t believe everyone’s so young, it seems like the last time I was here everyone was much older, had that many members died since Rosh Hashanah?I’m wondering this and I approach the Rabbi to ask him where all the older members went, he’s exuberant, his community is finally taking shape as more and more couples with young children and ...

The Lessons of Women’s Equality Day

Thirty-nine years ago today, legendary Congresswoman Bella Abzug led Congress in designating August 26th “Women’s Equality Day.”Exactly one year prior, Abzug had spoken at the “Women Strike for Equality” march, a gathering of 10,000 women in New York organized by Betty Friedan and a coalition of feminist activists, including the National Organization for Women (NOW), the YWCA, the National Coalition ...

The Lesson of Abraham’s Wealth

In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Lech Lecha, we are told of the divine command given to Abraham to leave the land and travel to a new land which God will show him. We are then told about Abraham’s financial status. V’Avram Kaved Meod. And Abram was very rich. Rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. There is much to ...

The LeBron Decision From a Jewish Perspective

Aside from NBA star LeBron James leaving one Jewish NBA franchise owner in Cleveland (Quicken Loans and Rock Financial chairman Dan Gilbert) and going to work for another Jewish NBA franchise owner in Miami (Israeli-American CEO of Carnival Corporation Micky Arison), there are several Jewish themes and lessons in “The Decision” of which team the free agent would sign with.Read ...