Jewish Blogs

Jay Michaelson On Taking the Boring Out Of Shul

I just read Jay Michaelson’s spot-on article in the Forward, “Rethinking Egalitarianism:Are We Leveling the Playing Field Too Low?”. Michaelson seems to always have his pulse on the Jewish community, and his perspective is not limited to only one denomination or to what’s going on in New York City.His article tackles several problems in synagogues today and I agree with ...

Japanese lab invents internet kissing machine

I’m not sure how I feel about kissing a machine that allows you to kiss folks over the internet, but I’m sure someone will find some use for it. I always wanted my first kiss to be special with a real person, though I feel this kissing machine may actually be better practice then kissing myself in the mirror or ...

James Frey’s Dazzling Messiah Book

Controversial author James Frey has written a brilliant book about a contemporary messiah, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible. The book is self published for Kindle via Amazon. And a luxury hardcoveredition has been issued by Gagosian Galleries. Quite a creative way to publish this breathtaking work of fiction that raises dozens of important theoligical issues.Here is what the publisher says about ...

Jaclyn Friedman speaks out against slut-shaming and victim blaming at Slutwalk

Jaclyn Friedman is a ‘Jewess with Attitude’ who talks the talk and walks the walk — the Slutwalk, that is. Jaclyn Friedman, founder and the Executive Director of Women, Action & the Media, is a powerful voice in the current Feminist movement. Co-author of Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, she is particularly concerned with ...

Jack Lew, Obama’s New Chief of Staff is Shomer Shabbat

Will President Barack Obama’s new Chief of Staff answer the President’s phone call on Shabbat? It would appear that the answer to that question will be yes (even though he’s Shomer Shabbos).Obama’s pick to succeed William Daley as his Chief of Staff is Jack Lew. Lew is currently a senior administration official who has served as the Director of the Office ...

I’ve Read Anne Frank’s Diary. And Tiki Barber, You’re No Anne Frank!

In February I toured the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam for the first time. It was a chilling experience. Since 7th grade, I’ve read several versions of Anne Frank’s diary. I’ve seen several versions of movies about Anne Frank. And I toured the Anne Frank exhibit at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.I am no scholar on Anne Frank, ...

I’ve Decided I’m Pro-Plastic Surgery (sometimes)

This plastic surgery thing is still going around the Jblogs, and it’s gotten me to thinking. First off, I want to say I’m obviously against pushing cosmetic plastic surgery to anyone, and of course not to 20-something year old sheltered seminary girls. That’s totally wrong. However, plastic, gastric, and whatever other surgery is an option that women (and men) have ...

I’ve broken my personal omer record

I cannot honestly remember the last time I actually made it this far in the omer counting, like most post yeshiva types who don’t attend shul too often – I’m usually on top of the counting until Pesach ends at which point I stop being reminded by the Rabbi to count and usually remember on some random Friday night that ...

Ivanka Trump’s “Flowers” Is Really a Lulav

There were two funny things about the photos of Ivanka Trump (The Donald’s daughter) and her husband Jared Kushner taken in New York this past week.First is the fact that the well-to-do couple wouldn’t be using a fancy etrog holder. As Kushner was pushing their baby daughter Arabella Rose on the second day of Sukkot, he was also carrying a lulav and etrog. One would ...

“It’s up to us to save ourselves”

Yesterday, Rabbi Jill Jacobs published an op-ed at ReligionDispatches.org that connects the labor struggles of the past with those of the present, using the words of labor organizer Rose Schneiderman to inspire us today.An excerpt from “It’s Up to Us to Save Ourselves”: What Wisconsin is Teaching Us:The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is most often remembered as galvanizing the passage ...

It’s time to accept that Obama will be a two-term President

Look, I don’t want Obama as President of the USA. He coddles the criminals who brought us to the brink of a depression, he does a poor job of running this economy, his foreign policy has to be one of the worst to ever be conducted by any administration and he has made many mistakes regarding Israel and its neighbors.However, ...

Items that may hurt your Shidduch Market Value

Depending on your hashkafic back round, the following items may or may not hurt your chances of finding a good shidduch, . I have heard about the table cloth thing for years – you know, if your family doesn’t use a white table cloth you’re out, but no one has actually confirmed this for real – causing me to place ...