For The Ghosts by Anne Burt [dropcap]M[/dropcap]y 13-year-old, as usual, is not eating her bowl of dry Honey Nut Cheerios. Her thumbs trawl across her iPhone even though in less than five minutes she needs to leave for the bus. “Eat,” I say from the counter where I...
A Hanukkah Story (miracle, included) By Lesley Hyatt [dropcap]O[/dropcap]n the morning before Hanukkah begins, I walk outside and see Nena Sara laughing over my little brothers, Matan and Ori, who try to spin wooden dreidles on the rough cement sidewalk. “Vueltanlos! Vueltanlos!” she says, smiling. The boys’...
The First Hanukkah By Andy Borowitz Illustrations by Noah Phillips [dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Billy Zylberberg thought about his childhood, he realized that Hanukkah would have meant more to him if he had been Jewish. Growing up in Winnetka in the seventies, Billy had only scant evidence of his Hebraic roots....
Got some leisurely reading time on your hands this Hanukkah season? We've got you covered. As the year winds to a close, we asked our editors to round up some of the best books of 2014, for your reading pleasure. Take a break from festivities...
Editor's Note: This story is part of our yearlong anniversary coverage of Jews' involvement in the American Civil Rights Movement. By Dina Weinstein [caption id="attachment_19395" align="alignleft" width="201"] Samstein with Bob Dylan. Photo by Danny Lyon/MAGNUM.[/caption] In the winter of 1963, a 25-year-old doctoral student at the University of...
It’s the time of the year when we begin to talk about oil. Not just the kind that heats homes, but the kind that burned in the Tabernacle of the Temple—that is, olive oil....
Lecha Dodi // According to tradition, Mordechai led the way. When the day was expiring, he emerged from his house in white garments. The cares of the working week fell away, and he prepared with discreet joy for the Sabbath. His hair, just visible under...
Longtime science lover Adam Ruben spends his days in a lab coat, peering down a microscope in search for a malaria vaccine. But by night, the Sanaria Inc researcher takes to the stage, cracking up crowds as a professional comedian in Washington, DC. Ruben performs at Capital...
Are there aspects of Judaism that encourage arrogance—or that help guard against it?...
Full disclosure: I am not a biblical or Talmudic scholar. As a professor of literature, I have taught selections from the Bible in humanities courses. I think of myself as a secular humanist and an agnostic interested in understanding the role of religion in the...