Jewish Voices, Jewish Lives

It’s what we do every day. Whether it’s the food we favor…a bagel with shmear… or the drive to repair the world…tikkun olam, we Jews are there, especially in Rockland County. We plan to bring Doing Jewish to you every Friday. Sometimes it’ll be fun, sometimes it’ll be serious.

Get Up, Stand Up

Those of you familiar with Bob Marley will recognize the refrain. Stand up for your rights. Don't give up the fight.

Earlier this week, I stood up with 3,000 of my neighbors in Teaneck outside of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun, when a few dozen anti-Zionist agitators came to disrupt an event fo…

Shame

This week, I received a bit of “anti-fan mail” for a previous newsletter, within which I stated, as part of a longer discussion of Israel’s justified campaign in Gaza that “Israel has an obligation to do more and better to protect non combatants.” (words, I should add, that I used …

Celebration Time

Almost 400 years ago, in 1629, one of my ancestors, Rabbi Yom Tov Lippman Heller (also known as the Tosefot Yom Tov, after his well known commentary on the Mishnah) was arrested in Vienna, where he had become the Jewish community’s Chief Rabbi in 1625.

Rabbi Yom Tov was one of the preemin…

Amalek

The name, for many of us, evokes the embodiment of evil attack, unwarranted persecution, and unprovoked violence that our Torah commands us to remember and never forget. It is our anti-talisman, that which we hold up to remind ourselves that our existence has historically and in the present …

Rockland Businesses Supporting Israel

New City Barber Shop

Michael Rohat, Owner

“Israel is in my heart and soul because I'm Israeli and I have family there. My Mom lives on a kibbutz near Sderot, where Hamas attacked, tortured and murdered more than 50 Israelis, and destroyed their homes and more. I'm so thankful my Mom is o…