Twelve Jews died in Ethiopia this summer — two of famine, 10 of mostly treatable medical conditions — and Dick Giesberg wants to know what it says about the Zionist imperative when the Israeli government refuses to expedite the immigration of a suffering Jewish community.
Sitting behind a crocheted curtain, I desperately tried to peer through the tiny holes to get a glimpse of the action on the men\’s side.
Finally, I gave up, and pushed the curtain aside, and saw our chazan auctioning off portions of the services.
Middle Easterners turn to the more exotic, like dates, quinces or pomegranates during the High Holidays. So if you\’re looking for some unique recipes this High Holiday season, you might want to turn to Faye Levy\’s latest cookbook, \”Feast from the Mideast: 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible\” (HarperCollins, $29.95).
It was unseasonably cold on the eve of the New Year. The lakes were frozen; the sun retreated from the heavens on erev Rosh Hashanah. A group of porcupines noted for their rugged individualism were caught shivering in wintry storms. They decided to huddle together and thereby find warmth in each other. But as they drew closer, their sharp, stiff quills tore into their flesh and caused them considerable pain. They then separated but were again punished by the icy winds. Such is the dilemma of porcupines: isolated they freeze, united they suffer.
Since losing her husband unexpectedly two years ago, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have been painful for Liz Safirstein Leshin, 42.
\”For me, the High Holidays and a lot of things like birthdays are very fraught,\” the Westside resident said. \”I haven\’t been able to feel enthusiastic about much of anything spiritual.\”
The numbers of Humanistic Judaism are small — especially given the millions of Jews in the world who identify themselves as nonreligious — but Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine of Detroit, who founded the Society for Humanistic Judaism in 1969, remains optimistic.
When you cut open a pomegranate, first removing its turreted crown, then scoring its red, leathery skin, before breaking it apart under water (so the juices won\’t squirt and stain your clothes), you are presented with sacks of glistening, abundant garnet fruit caviar.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins this year at sundown on Friday, Sept. 26. It is a time to gather with family and friends and enjoy special holiday foods.
In September 1982, an Israeli sniper in Beirut had Yasser Arafat\’s head in his gunsights, and he waited for an order from Ariel Sharon, who in turn was awaiting word from Jerusalem: Kill him or set him free?
Sharon, then defense minister, soon got the order from Prime Minister Menachem Begin: Let Arafat board the boat evacuating the PLO leadership from Beirut.
More than 20 years later, Arafat is once again in Israeli sights, only this time Sharon is in Jerusalem calling the shots.
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