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Greetings from the shtetl. You would think that I have been in Israel for a few weeks already and I would be writing about the restaurants and the museums, the hikes and the adventures, but, no, that is not what I am going to be writing about. At least not yet. Let us discuss Cocomelon. Cocomelon is a cartoon baby who performs sing-alongs with his/her family. I think Cocomelon is a boy, but I am not really clear on that. I know that there is a brother and a sister,...Continue Reading
It’s a pity that the phrase Jewish journey has become so entirely cliched that it’s now unusable, because if it weren’t, it could be used to describe Rabbi Anne Laurent’s path from Brittany to a life in Essex County and then to the walls of Delaney Hall,...Continue Reading
Teaching about Israel’s history right now is not a job for the faint-hearted. It is also highly unlikely that anyone would have tried calling visionary educator Tikva Wiener of Teaneck faint-hearted. Not ever. So now Ms. Wiener, through the organization she created and heads, Kadima Coaching, is teaching teachers...Continue Reading
This can be a confusing time to be a Jewish teenager. Cultural assumptions and expectations are changing rapidly in some places; it can be hard for Jewish tweens or teens to figure out their identity. It’s almost a perfect storm for some kids — please note that this...Continue Reading
Emil Bezverkhny’s life followed a classic tragic arc. He was brilliant — a wildly creative, innovative physicist and inventor whose gifts would have been welcome anywhere. He was optimistic and resilient, kind and loving. Like all tragic heroes, he had a fatal flaw, but unlike most of them,...Continue Reading
We Jews are known for our devotion to text. To say we read carefully is to understate ludicrously. We examine every word, every noun for its solidity and apparent meaning, every verb for its active or passive message, every repetition and alliteration and metaphor for whatever might possibly...Continue Reading
