Visionary revisionary

Published on May 22, 2013

saw it all in the mirror

Here Today

Published on May 15, 2013

God is here today. She is a spectacular god...

You breathed it into me

Published on May 8, 2013

I fail. Every morning shade drawn,

Blue Numbers

Published on May 1, 2013

those numbers on your forearm you don’t try to hide them

The Mirror Psalm

Published on April 19, 2013

I had a dinner with a woman mad
for God.

A prayer of hope after the Boston Marathon bombing

Published on April 16, 2013

“Behold days are coming, says the Lord…and they shall rebuild.” From our Haftarah this Shabbat Amos 9:13

Becky and Benny in far Rockaway

Published on April 10, 2013

Near the Atlantic Ocean, past the last subway station,

Mad love

Published on April 3, 2013

This poem first appeared in the Winter 2011 issue of BLIP Magazine (now New World Writing). It was reprinted in the collection “Pointed Sentences” (BlazeVOX, 2012).

Talmud Study

Published on March 28, 2013

How do you measure anything — count your deaths, who loves you, who loves you knot.

A Poem for the Month

By Beit T'shuvah
Published on March 4, 2013

sinking

By Emily Stern
Published on February 21, 2013

A poem for a temple reborn by Patty Seyburn

Published on February 13, 2013

This poem by Patty Seyburn was commissioned for the reopening of the newly renovated Temple Israel, in Long Beach, and will be read in fully by Seyburn at the temple on March 9. For information: click here.

Rest

By Emily Stern
Published on February 11, 2013

German poet Gunther Grass slams Israel in second poem

Published on October 1, 2012

Gunter Grass, Germany's Nobel Prize-winning author, has published another poem criticizing Israeli policy.

Sukkah #1

By Emily Stern
Published on September 28, 2012

U.S. author Eggers will not accept Gunter Grass prize in person

Published on April 17, 2012

American author Dave Eggers said he will not travel to Germany to accept a literary prize from the Gunter Grass Foundation.

Gunter Grass: Israel’s response to poem akin to dictatorship

Published on April 11, 2012

German literary giant Gunter Grass said Israel's decision to bar him entry following publication of his controversial poem resembles the behavior of a dictatorship.

Netanayahu blasts Gunter Grass poem

Published on April 6, 2012

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted a German poet who wrote that Israel is a threat to world peace.

The Lions' Den

By Judea Pearl
Published on February 23, 2012

Daniel Pearl’s murder by terrorists was made public on Feb. 21, 2002. Author Judea Pearl is a professor at UCLA, president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation (danielpearl.org) and a co-editor of “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl” (Jewish Lights, 2004), winner of the National Jewish Book Award.

Knesset member suspended over crude poem

Published on January 17, 2012

The Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Israeli-Arab lawmaker Ahmed Tibi after he attacked a fellow lawmaker with an insulting poem.

Opinion: Homeward bound

By David Suissa
Published on August 17, 2011

I come to a land that calls me home Pulled in by the suns of August. On each visit, the eyes utter the same words: Electric. Messy. Miracle.

In loving memory of our chazzan, Debbie Friedman

Published on January 20, 2011

When the New Reform Congregation [now Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills] was established in 1984, Debbie was our chazzan for 3 years. She responded, and the congregation was thrilled, as truly “the old dreamed new dreams and the youth saw visions.” Our shul was “alive to the sound of music” to Debbie's presence and her music. Debbie gave voice to the voiceless through her voice and her passion for justice.

Poetic justice for controversial Israeli writer

Published on January 5, 2011

Best friends Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld argue occasionally. Most often their disputes involve commas, line breaks and word connotations.

Judea Pearl: A Poem for Israel’s 61st

By Judea Pearl
Published on May 1, 2009

The song was written for Micha Shagrir's documentary film "Mirdaf", during the War of Attrition (1968-1970). It describes the military situation along the Jordan border when PLO raids against Israel, followed by IDF chases after the perpetrators, became a daily routine. The song was first performed by Chava Alberstein, to music by Nahum Haiman (this year's recipient of Israel's Prize) and can be heard on you-tube (search for Mirdaf).

MUSIC VIDEO: Hannah Friedman: ‘Oh, Obama’

Published on November 6, 2008

Writer (and singer) Hannah Friedman stayed up all night to bring us this song

The Departure

By Shmuel Moreh
Published on February 22, 2007

poem

Ode to Chanukah

Published on December 29, 2005

Enjoy this poem by Sinai Akiba fifth-grader Shana Saleh as you munch on
those latkes.

Smarty Pants

By Abby Gilad
Published on October 14, 2004

Albert Einstein was a very smart man -- probably one of smartest people of all time.

5765

By Rob Eshman
Published on September 16, 2004

It begins as 100,000 Jews amassed last Saturday evening in the streets of Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to pull 7,500 Jewish settlers out of the Gaza Strip and thousands more, eventually, from the West Bank. Protesters whose placards called Sharon a traitor were told to take them down -- but that didn't make the sentiment any less apparent. To be blunt, civil war is in the air.

For the Kids

By Abby Gilad
Published on May 27, 2004

For The Kids

For the Kids

By Abby Gilad
Published on May 13, 2004

A child's poem to celebrate Jerusalem Day

For the Kids

By Abby Gilad
Published on April 1, 2004

For The Kids

For the Kids

By Abby Gilad
Published on November 20, 2003

In Old English, the month of November was called "blood month." It was a month of animal sacrifices that took place to prepare for the long winter.

For the Kids

By Abby Gilad
Published on October 23, 2003

There are a lot of new things in our lives.

How the Gonif

By Matthew Wunderlich
Published on November 28, 2002

Based on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". (With apologies to Dr. Seuss)

Spring Is Here

By Abby Gilad
Published on March 28, 2002

On this Shabbat, hol ha'moed Pesach, we read a beautiful story called "The Song of Songs." It is attributed to King Solomon, and the rabbis interpret the love story that takes place between the girl and the boy in the poem as Solomon's love for God and of God's love for the Jewish people.

Chaya’s Dance

By Beverly Gray
Published on April 8, 1999

Six years ago, Carol Solomon attended Yom Kippur services in Copenhagen. Flipping through the back of the English language prayerbook, she came upon a poem, translated from Hebrew, called "The Letter of the Ninety-Three Maidens." Based on an actual letter that was found after the Holocaust, it tells of young girls at a Jewish school in Cracow who took poison rather than allow themselves to be defiled by Nazi soldiers. Historians question the letter's authenticity. But for Solomon, "something about this story just captured my heart."