Gratitude is easy when life is smooth, when the blessings are obvious, when the moments sparkle, when everything lines up the way we hoped. But the real test, the one that reveals who we are and who we want to be, comes when the world…
Category: Other
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Gratitude for the Things We Do Not See or Perceive
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Brown University – The Jewish Ivy?
On the weekend of November 7-9, Brown University hosted its unprecedented celebration of “130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown.” At some point during Shabbat dinner, between the ridiculously decadent noodle kugel and Robert Kraft’s talk about…
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Israeli Democracy Under Strain
Israel is facing one of the most perilous democratic moments in its history. This is not business as usual. It is a democratic emergency. In recent weeks alone, we have witnessed attacks on journalists and academics, punitive legislation…
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UNforgivable
This Tuesday is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women: a date and subsequent ten days of activism created by the United Nations to raise awareness regarding the specific sex-based violence that women face across the…
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Triggering & Brilliant: Slam Frank
Where satire, identity politics, and pure absurdity collide. I went to see Slam Frank in NYC. If you don’t already know, Slam Frank is an off-Broadway satirical hip-hop musical based (loosely, wildly, deliberately provocatively) on the story of…
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It Ain’t Over
We all know the expression “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And we also know that it is true in many circumstances. We can’t always see how things will resolve until we are at that point. Yet we often jump to conclusions, and…
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The Hollywood History of Art by Christopher Frayling
“Most people’s knowledge of artists comes from popular media, primarily Hollywood,” argues Sir Christopher Frayling. From Kirk Douglas’s fiery Van Gogh and Charlton Heston’s Michelangelo, to Jeffrey Wright’s Basquiat, Derek Jacobi’s…
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Lebanon Has Been Too Slow To Disarm Hezbollah
The ceasefire that was supposed to end the war in Lebanon has effectively broken down as Israel continues to attack Hezbollah operatives and military infrastructure on almost a daily basis. In its latest operation, on November 23, Israel killed…
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If We Won the War, Why Don’t We Feel the Sweet Taste of Victory?
I often listen to podcasts while driving, a habit that turns traffic into thinking time. On one of those drives recently, I listened to Dan Senor interview Dr. Micah Goodman on the excellent Call Me Back show about whether Israel had won the…
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When the Ladder Meets the Tunnels: Parashat Vayetzei
Since October 7, even the familiar rituals of Shabbat — breaking challah, pouring water — feel different. What once brought quiet joy now feels layered with tragedy, memory, and longing. For many of our fellow citizens who were held hostage…
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