by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 3, 2023 | Antisemitism, Tenth of Tevet, Chosen Nation, Kings, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Temple
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz High school was difficult for me. Not only was I an awkward teen but there was also a group of guys who, unbeknownst to me, had decided amongst themselves that they would make my life miserable. They would take turns playing pranks on me. At...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 1, 2023 | Antisemitism, Tishrei, Bo, Shevat, Nisan, Elul
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz While the entire world is celebrating, bringing in the new year, Jews are more subdued. Everyone else is flipping their calendars from 2022 to 2023, but the Hebrew calendar is already a quarter of the way through 5783. Why do the Jews have a...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 27, 2022 | Antisemitism, Psalms, Community, Good and Evil
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz When I rode a motorcycle in New York, I used to hang out at bars that catered to a very rough crowd. It amazed me that biker gangs made no attempt to hide their identity and affiliations. They wore their ‘colors’ with pride on the back of...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 5, 2022 | Antisemitism, Psalms, Chosen Nation, Chanukah, God, Prayer, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Hanukkah is quickly approaching and I am reminded of a joke my father, of blessed memory, used to tell every year after lighting the candles. With the doughnuts and potato pancakes arranged on the table and waiting to be eaten, my dad would...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2022 | Antisemitism
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz I recently had to consult with a rabbi about a matter in Jewish law. I am not an incredible scholar with an encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish law, but like most Torah-observant Jews I have a routine that I trust. As long as nothing unusual...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 7, 2022 | Antisemitism, Kindness and Compassion
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Some true stories are far more remarkable than fiction, and this is certainly the case with regard to Doña Gracia Nasi. In the 16th century, long before the women’s liberation movement came into fashion and when Jews were expelled from Spain...
