We are born, so the Mishnah says, into the world against our will. No one consulted with us before our arrival. And we were born into a world that had already benefited and suffered because of the choices that other people had already made for us. Where our parents lived, their income and compatibility, whether we had a roof over our heads, beds to sleep in at night, and a full stomach every evening were all-important questions that we never chose for ourselves. Read more...

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of my father giving me birthday and/or Hanukah presents.  Not necessarily for the presents themselves, for I have long since forgotten what most of them were, but for the way in which he would give them.  Sitting in his chair in the living room, he would call me to the room.  When I arrived, he would tell me that he had dropped something behind the chair (often his cigarettes though that I would definitely like to forget), and needed me to get it for him.  Read more...

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of my father giving me birthday and/or Hanukah presents.  Not necessarily for the presents themselves, for I have long since forgotten what most of them were, but for the way in which he would give them.  Sitting in his chair in the living room, he would call me to the room.  When I arrived, he would tell me that he had dropped something behind the chair (often his cigarettes though that I would definitely like to forget), and needed me to get it for him.  Read more...

Sefer Sh'mot, the Book of Exodus, is arguably the most important single story in all of Jewish history.  The tale of the liberation of the Israelite slaves from Egyptian oppression, of God's role in freeing the Jews and leading them to the base of Mount Sinai, the revelation of the 10 Commandments and the beginnings of Jewish law constitute the very core of what it means to be a Jew. Read more...

Sefer Sh'mot, the Book of Exodus, is arguably the most important single story in all of Jewish history.  The tale of the liberation of the Israelite slaves from Egyptian oppression, of God's role in freeing the Jews and leading them to the base of Mount Sinai, the revelation of the 10 Commandments and the beginnings of Jewish law constitute the very core of what it means to be a Jew. Read more...