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understanding

One-Day U

You have to go back to Spiro Agnew and his bullyboy ventriloquists, Pat Buchanan and William Safire, to find this kind of sneering contempt for educated people.

Books: Shoah satire crosses line into nasty territory

Condescension and shame make a toxic combination. As I read \”My Holocaust, \”howling — but aching — through page after page of relentlessly acerbic comedy, I was reminded of Masada and the Grand Canyon and found myself wondering: what makes good satire?

Humbling Wisdom

Propelled by curiosity, I asked, \”By the way are you Jewish?\”

\”Not at all,\” he answered. \”I was born Presbyterian, and now I am a Baptist. Maybe one day I will become Jewish. What do you think of that?\”

Deciding it would be best not to answer, I acted Jewish and responded with a totally different question: \”How do you know so much about Judaism and Chanukah?\”

With total seriousness he said, \”You can\’t claim to be a religious Christian without knowing Judaism. All religious wisdom starts with Judaism.\”

Chemistry and the Torah: The Limits of Understanding

Judaism is a simple religion containing many complexities. No one could realistically hope to understand everything. It is important to question and to learn. But when we don\’t understand something, or don\’t agree with something, we need to remember that it doesn\’t give us license to not follow halacha or to not keep the Torah.

Culling Your ‘Stuff’ Can Be Painful Task

Moving from a familiar home and letting go of things owned for years can feel like an additional loss. It\’s not just the loss of the objects that has an impact; it\’s the connection with the past that these objects symbolize.

The Circuit

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) recently recognized Steven Spielberg\’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in Washington, D.C., by bestowing on it the Boxer Excellence in Education Award.

So Uncool, It’s Cool

I favor the type of acrylic French tip nails that are considered fashionable only by midlevel porn stars.

Bird’s-Eye View

The message is a universal one and it is directed to all mankind. How much better would the world be if we looked at people and thought first of what we have in common with us instead of analyzing how they differ from and are therefore inferior to us?

71: A Vote We Can All Agree On

We Jews aren\’t exactly famous for agreeing with one another. Of our community, it is frequently said, \”Five Jews, eight opinions.\”

How to Approach a Grieving Jew

Grief erases all regular rules. All the logic that has ever seemed to govern one\’s life suddenly seems useless. More than useless, it seems pointless.

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Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.