“Rabbi Adar, is it dangerous to wear my Jewish star?” In 12 years of teaching “Introduction to the Jewish Experience” through HaMaqom|The Place, no student ever asked me that question in those words. This year three students have asked it of me. The first student who asked it was a young woman, a conversion candidate,…
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First Person
First Person
Thank you, Israel, from one of your Arab citizens
I am an Israeli Arab. I was born to a Muslim Bedouin family in the north of Israel, in the Galilee (but I’m not religious). It’s been hard, and painful,…
Local Voice
Be of service during Covid and get a ‘helper’s high’
Social distancing is as bizarre a term as it is a phenomenon, and, unfortunately, it has barreled into our lives with a depressing velocity. Since the…
First Person
Not a normal Israeli Friday
Friday is the day most Jewish Israelis, secular and religious, prepare for Shabbat. The secular go to cafes, shopping malls and the beach. The religious…
Opinion
What it means to be a ‘Jew of No Religion’
I’m thrilled that atheist/agnostic, nonreligious Jews like me seem to be growing in numbers. I’m concerned, though, that our full set of values is not…
First Person
Each time the sirens sound, it’s just as terrifying
There are many things in life you can prepare for, but I don’t think there is anything that can prepare you for the moment when you hear sirens from…
Opinion
Take it from a fat rabbi: Nobody needs your dieting advice
Do you want to know one small but powerful way we could make Jewish life more inclusive? Stop telling fat people about your diet and asking if they’d like…
Local Voice
In this age of leftist illiberalism, I’m standing up for the truth
When the history of this period is written, it will include people who resorted to violence when nonviolence would have moved mountains; people who…
First Person
Inside each buried Jewish book, a Jewish heart
A long-awaited construction project at our Manhattan synagogue, Ansche Chesed, is about to begin. Off in the distance we can glimpse our expanded lobby…