With Passover just around the corner, beginning on March 27, Jews around the world are preparing to participate in a ritual retelling both of our suffering as an oppressed people and of our miraculous redemption from the suffering of Mitzrayim, Hebrew for ancient Egypt. Each year, we relate to this past experience through the prism…
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Opinion
Editorial
Survivors are fewer and fewer. We can’t forget them now.
Every so often, it’s useful to recall the immortal words of novelist William Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” That insight…
Music
This guitarist makes new soundscapes from old Jewish records
Folk musician and record archivist Nathan Salsburg lives on a 40-acre former tree farm in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, with fellow songwriter…
First Person
An inside look at our Jewish funeral home during Covid
It has been nearly a year since the Covid virus unceremoniously injected itself into almost every dimension of our daily lives. It has meant “Not Business…
First Person
How do we help disabled Jews feel more at home in our communities?
Growing up, even when I was surrounded by people who genuinely loved me and wanted me to be my full, authentic self, I often still didn’t feel like I…
Opinion
The remarkable linguistics of Israel's viral American gym bubbe
Before I had even managed to settle down for my first Zoom meeting on Monday morning, I had already received several messages from friends and colleagues…
Opinion
What Jewish comedians made of SNL's Israel joke
It’s almost Purim, which means I am busy writing jokes that poke fun at the stuff we do and obsess about as Jews without offending too many people. Not…
Local Voice
The California ethnic studies firestorm is far from over
In recent days, the national Jewish community has focused on the ethnic studies model curriculum making its way through the approval process in…
Religion
For this second pandemic Purim, let's focus on giving tzedakah
One year ago, we were debating how to navigate Purim carnivals — not if they should or should not take place. We were told that masks would not protect…