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Our Lives are on Loan from God

The following story is from a shiur given by Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein.There was once a young lady who was blind and she was looking for a shidduch. As a blind girl, it was very tough for her. Eventually, she was set up with a boy who fell madly in love with her, and he married her and he took very ...

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Is Geraldo Rivera Jewish?

Yes, attorney, journalist, writer, reporter and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera is a Jew. Rivera has worked with distinction for 40 years in TV journalism and entertainment. He has hosted the program Geraldo at Large, and appears on Fox News Channel.Rivera was born July 4, 1943 at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City (where this blogger was ...

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Simple Origami Jumping Frogs For Passover

Origami frogs, namely simple origami jumping frogs, that you and the kids can make in just a few minutes each, are the perfect craft for the Passover seder. And of course they’d work very nicely with the origami pyramids I posted about last week! Teach the kids how to make them, and then let them make a small army of ...

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Reclaiming the Ketubah as a Symbol of Equality and Women’s Independence

The evolution of the Ketubah in the Jewish tradition has taken an interesting turn in recent times. Once a vehicle to protect women from financial devastation in the case of divorce or death of a husband, it is now considered for many a traditional prerequisite for marriage as well as an archival work of art, and is often created and ...

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Orthopraxy is Way Better than Going off the Derech

Too many people rag on Orthopraxy, the situation in which you look and act like a normal orthodox Jew, yet aren’t a believer, but I think it’s a way better option than going off the derech. You see, when you’re orthorpax, you get all the perks of orthodox Judaism without any of the disadvantages of leaving the community. You can ...

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Ten Tips for Seder Leaders

Passover is coming… Time for some tips for your Seder…Most folks consider preparing and eating the festive meal to be the central focus of their Passover Seder. There’s not much advice that we can offer to help improve upon that.However, we have always had fun conducting the reading of the Haggadah. We learned this art as a child by watching ...

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Breaking Free from Tradition: New Ideas for Passover Learning

Watch The Prince of Egypt. Throw the toy frogs. Have a chocolate seder. Create artistic interpretations of the Ten Plagues. These are old stand-bys in the Jewish education world that aim to get our students “excited” and “engaged” in the holiday and tradition of Passover. Now, don’t get me wrong, kids and families genuinely enjoy these classic activities, but when we lean ...

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There Aren’t Enough Frummies in the Bay Area

I miss those families that have erev shabbos kugel, I find this kind of weird because I’ve never really missed frummies before, but I guess human nature is that we miss the things we don’t have. To say that San Francisco is the black hole of Judaism may be a little much, sure there’s rampant assimilation and you can even ...

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The Making of a Pesach Seder

I don’t think there are many days in the year that can cause greater strife in BT-Familial relations than Pesach. I think the reason for that is twofold. First, Pesach is a holiday that involves a high level of kashrus scrutiny. Second, many non-religious people take Pesach seriously on their level and a BT’s unwillingness to eat in their home ...

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Jewish Action: Is Rabbi Jonathan Gross the Chief Rabbi of Nebraska?

We salute our Teaneck favorite son for achieving recognition as a rabbi in Omaha. A certain young rabbi named Zev Goldstein (our dad) served as a clergyman in that town in the early 1940′s.The Chief Rabbi of Nebraska: Rabbi Jonathan GrossBy Bayla Sheva BrennerThe richest man in the world lives in Omaha, Nebraska, according to a 2008 Forbes magazine report. ...

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Shabbat Shalom vs. Good Shabbos

I like to consider myself a Jewish profiler. I remember when everyone was going nuts over racial profiling in airports. I used to do a little profiling of my own – on the streets of my Jewish community every Saturday morning.I am sure there was a simpler time in the Orthodox community, a time when there was togetherness among Jews ...

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How To Remove Old Wine Stains

I just had to share this with you my friends, this story of a little Purim miracle that occurred in my home the night before Purim, and that may very well be of great use to you after the Passover seder! It goes like this: my husband has a traditional Moroccan robe that he bought last year to wear on ...

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