MONSEY, N.Y. — As Jewish people around the globe were lighting candles in celebration of the 7th night of Hanukkah, the joyous family gatherings in our town were disrupted by the breaking news of a tragedy close to home: At approximately 10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, a deranged man entered t…

JERUSALEM — What does one wear to the world’s first women’s Siyum HaShas?

The decision to take our kids to Sunday’s No Hate, No Fear Solidarity March did not come easily. At least, not at first.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — What does one wear to the world’s first women’s Siyum HaShas?

Anyone who cares at all about the pursuit of justice just got an unexpected holiday gift last week. Congress just passed a huge omnibus spending bill, which was signed by the U.S. President Donald Trump on Dec. 20 and became the law of the land: Public Law 116-94.

I recall vividly the moment of realization I had soon after the Ferguson protests had gained steam. As a new member of the clergy and recent transport to St Louis, I watched the news unfold musing, “The Jewish community really should do something.” Then I stopped. “Darn,” I thought. “I am th…

I just saw “Joker,” the Todd Phillips movie tracing the roots of the DC Comics supervillain character. Perhaps the most succinctly accurate movie review I read was the following:

BEIT EL, West Bank — I watched the news of the terrible Jersey City shooting last week with both horror and a sense of déjà vu. Sadly, violent attacks against Jews, wherever we live, have become all too common. We can no longer assume our communal spaces and houses of worship are safe.

As a small child, I remember seeing the Star of David in the stained glass windows of the Agudas Achim Beth Israel in my hometown of Belleville as I walked past the synagogue with my maternal grandfather who helped raise me. I was drawn to the design all those years ago. The star spoke to me…

LOS ANGELES — Another Jewish community has sustained a bloody attack that left Jews everywhere reeling. Last  Tuesday, a small enclave of Hasidic Jews in Jersey City, New Jersey had their worlds shaken and disrupted during a frightening siege. Schools were on lockdown, four people were murde…

The more recent news from my native country Bolivia, where almost all my family lives, is good for democracy and good for the Jews. 

Last month, on a below freezing day, I rode the Amtrak train from my home in Chicago to my childhood home of St. Louis. I was on my way to a Breaking the Silence event at Congregation B’nai Amoona.