Reflections on a Bar Mitzvah

By Tom Tugend
Published on March 18, 2009

Obituaries

Published on May 18, 2006

Obituaries.

Then There Was One

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on May 20, 2004

"I have all these weird mixed feelings about my new play," Neil Goldman said.

As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, he wrote "A Candle for the Last," about the last living survivor, to do his part for Holocaust remembrance.

"But at the same time, there's the 'by Neil Goldman' aspect to it," Goldman, a staff writer for NBC's "Scrubs," said, sheepishly.

"Here I am doing a newspaper interview," he said. "Meanwhile, my grandmother is proud I've written a play, and she thinks Steven Spielberg should come see it. But did I subconsciously write it for that reason?"

A Double Mitzvah

By Keren Engelberg
Published on May 8, 2003

If one follows the traditional Jewish philosophy that a lifetime is 70 years, Dr. Hy Goldman was symbolically reborn on April 22, 2000. It's a philosophy Goldman likes, and thus followed to the next logical conclusion -- that he should reaffirm his commitment to Judaism with a second bar mitzvah at the age of 83 (age 70 plus 13). That his grandson, Jason, decided to join him by becoming a bar mitzvah for the first time, at age 21, only added to the uniqueness of the occasion.

Diagnosis: Grandfather

By Tom Tugend
Published on December 27, 2001

"The Grandfather Thing" by Saul Turteltaub (Tallfellow Press, $16.95).

Saul Turteltaub, whom I've known for a good many years, is a funny man and a funny television writer. If you laughed at "The Carol Burnett Show," "The Jackie Gleason Show," "That Girl" or "The Cosby Show," tip your hat to Turteltaub, because they are among the 30 major TV shows he has written or produced over a 40- year span.

To Let Go, to Love, to Forgive

By Ellie Kahn
Published on October 5, 2000

"I have good news! My cancer is in remission." I've called Elsie Schwartz to talk about the High Holy Days, but the news about her illness is an unexpected surprise and a huge relief. At 89, Elsie has taught me a great deal about life and about choosing to face death by living fully and fully loving.