Tuesday, October 27th 2026 |
THEODORE “TED” ROBERTS was a humorist and writer, who lived in the Deep South of Huntsville, Alabama and wove stories based on his lifelong love of Judaism. Roberts’ collection of columns that ran in the CCJN with his sobriquet “The Scribbler on the Roof,” are archived here in the hopes that reading his homespun brand of Talmud will bring you continued joy and love of Jewish learning and culture. Roberts, 89, died on March 2, 2020 and was buried in his hometown of Memphis.
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
Well, it was the end of the sixth day. The job was done. Finished. So, He rested. What a beautiful world He had made. And not surprisingly everything worked. His laws of...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
What is it about Jewish women and doctors? Why doesn’t the typical mother want her daughter to marry a physicist or a Talmudic scholar or a Google executive? No, it’s always a...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
Isn’t it strange that out of the millions of words on TV ranting about the Russian move into Syria – the pro Assad airstrikes – not one dealt with the greater peril,...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF It’s a big mitzvah, you know, to “dwell in booths for seven days”. That’s what they tell us in Leviticus: Chapter 23. As usual, we’re at the mercy of the translation.
It...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
Christianity and Judaism have many customs and symbolism in common. Naturally, as the aphorism states, the child does not stray far from the mother. We both take vows to repair our character....
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
All went well in my young, southern life until my boss recited a suspicious speech to me about the beauties of Boston. As a gentle postscript to his tirade, he underlined that...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
Who’s the hero of the Bar Mitzvah reception? Who garners more attention than the kid himself? Maybe that’s why I, a long-time instructor, love Bar Mitzvah parties. Especially those with waiters passing...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
A Jew growing up beneath the Mason-Dixon line has a hard life. Especially when it comes to food. Looking back on my culinary life, it’s amazing that I grew up as normal...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
A dog is a pet.
A cat is a mystery.
Some of my best friends are dogs; so don’t call me a bigot if I tell you that I prefer cats. Why,...
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was not Jewish. Sure, Adam Sandler, Goldie Hawn, Kirk Douglas, Alan Greenspan, and Bill Goldberg (a wrestling champ like Jacob) are Jewish. So...
