The Other Side of the Wall
Praying at the western wall first as a man, then as a woman.
Jewish Word // “Zaftig”
A Full-Bodied History
by Hilary Weissman, with additional reporting by Sala Levin
For a quick overview of the complexities of the word zaftig, take a look at...
Hanukkah Lights // Debra Ginsberg
The Only Miracle
by Debra Ginsberg
Daniel was surprisingly hungry. He’d eaten a decent lunch—a sandwich with pickles and a side of slaw—and planned only a light...
Hanukkah Lights // Anne Burt
For The Ghosts
by Anne Burt
My 13-year-old, as usual, is not eating her bowl of dry Honey Nut Cheerios. Her thumbs trawl across her iPhone even...
Hanukkah Lights // Lesley Hyatt
A Hanukkah Story (miracle, included)
By Lesley Hyatt
On the morning before Hanukkah begins, I walk outside and see Nena Sara laughing over my little brothers, Matan...
Hanukkah Lights // Andy Borowitz
The First Hanukkah
By Andy Borowitz
Illustrations by Noah Phillips
When Billy Zylberberg thought about his childhood, he realized that Hanukkah would have meant more to him if...
Talk of the Table // Latke
Growing up by the sea in Belle Harbor, New York, five decades ago, I never heard of a Hanukkah doughnut. In my Ashkenazi family, Hanukkah fare was potato latkes, served with sour cream and my mother’s freshly made applesauce, or as an accompaniment to brisket.
Jewish Word // “NJB”
Maybe you know one. Maybe you want one. Maybe you are one. Go to JDate.com, and you’re guaranteed to find one: “Message me if you are looking for a nice Jewish boy who values family, respect and loyalty.”
From the Editors // Nadine Epstein & Sarah Breger
Israel is a bifurcated nation. On one side, it is a robust democracy with active executive, legislative and judicial branches. On the other, it has...
Jewish Word // Kinehora
In 2004, the stoic, cowboy-esque Clint Eastwood unexpectedly proved himself more Tevye the Dairyman than Dirty Harry. In response to a reporter’s question about the chances of his movie, Mystic River, winning the Best Picture Oscar, Eastwood cried, “Kinehora!” He explained that it was a Jewish expression used to ward off a jinx, one of countless protective folk actions intended to avoid, fool or attack evil spirits.
Test-Tube Burgers: Holy Cow?
In Genesis, God granted humans dominion over animals. In modern times, that dominion has spawned one of the planet’s biggest threats: a livestock industry that spews greenhouse gases, guzzles resources and renders the lives of billions of animals brutish and short. Last August, vexed by the problem, a Dutch physiologist named Mark Post came up with a solution: a burger no cow had to die for. He called it the “test-tube burger.”