There was a special gift that G-d gave us at the dawn of creation. It was the gift of speech. Speaking is an important part of being human.
There is a famous story in the Torah that tells us how we almost lost that Divine gift. The people after the Flood built the Tower of Babel. And they were punished. We know the generation of the Flood sinned and was therefore punished. (more…)
Since the Covid-19 Pandemic has become such an important part of our lives, there is an important piece of history to be told and retold, as well. I always feel very proud reading this story. Some of you may have heard of it before, but it’s important enough to be repeated.
“He who saves a life, saves the world.” A Jewish Proverb (more…)
On Yom Kippur of 5728, or 1967 of the Common Era, an event took place the likes of which had not been seen for hundreds of years. (more…)
When bad things happen, you must try to turn them into good things. So our shul took the terrible, lonely, bizarre months of the pandemic and came up with programs that promoted togetherness. (more…)
Gut yontif. I have heard there are three secrets to a successful Kol Nidre speech. First, have a good beginning. Second, have a good ending and third, have the two as close together as possible. I will try to make it short and sweet. This is (about) the 75th time that a President has stood in front of this congregation on Kol Nidre. What a wonderful milestone and I’m very proud to be standing here right now. (more…)
By ROSSELLA TERCATIN OCTOBER 5, 2021
A privatetoilet dating back
to some 2,700-years was uncovered in a luxurious palace in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.
Click for October 2021 Bulletin Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.
Click for September 2021 Bulletin Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.
When was the last time you had a Jaffa Orange? As children we gushed with pride and boasted that the very best oranges in the supermarket were from Israel! The Jaffa Orange was a tangible (and tasty!) reminder of the miracle of Israel. The ability to irrigate and re-engineer agriculture produced results (and produce!) Out of the desert … oranges! Israel produced as much as 1.8 million tons of caitrus in the 1980’s. I’m telling you, that fruit has appeal! But times have changed. Annual Israeli citrus production has dropped about 75% since those years. More broadly as shown in the chart below, while agriculture was responsible for over 40% of the value of Israel’s exports in the late 1950’s, these days agriculture only amounts to about 2% of the value of everything Israel sends to the world. What happened? (more…)
In the July/August issue of Israel Matters, you were promised in-person reporting from Israel. Well, as you might have guessed, Covid had other plans in the form of an Israeli Delta Variant outbreak. So, in place of an in-person story, here is a one-person-removed accounting of what is going on in Israel.
To set the context, recall that in October 2020, all of us were isolated from each other and sad at the situation into which the pandemic had forced us. I decided to do something that always makes me happy and booked a trip to Israel, convincing my NYC friend Shari to join me. We made reservations for July 2021, at which time we assumed this mess would be over.
Obviously, we were wrong. (more…)
