NEW ROCHELLE (JTA) — Jewish holidays, typically times of joy and gathering, have this year become times of increased danger and foreboding.
Particularly among the observant and Orthodox communities, Purim was — and now Passover will be — occasions when following tradition as usual can be deadly. The spirit... Continue Reading ⇒
(JNS) – For most of us, this is the saddest Passover we can recall.
The coronavirus pandemic is unlike any previous trauma we’ve lived through. Nothing, not even the 9/11 attacks, brought our world to an extended collective halt the way the efforts to contain... Continue Reading ⇒
(JNS.org) –If you were to take a wider perspective on this current pandemic, you would immediately realize that the earth is like one giant petri dish facing a universal contagion, where we are all in this together. In this dish, both the best and the worst microbes are virulently reproducing.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (JTA) — Recalling the culture of the Eastern European shtetl in their famous book of the same name, Mark Zborowski and Elizabeth Herzog wrote that for Jews, “Life is With People.”
This is certainly true in a world governed by Jewish values and tradition. At... Continue Reading ⇒
When the first accounts began to reach me over Facebook and through more conventional news that colleges were sending their students packing, my initial reaction was to question the wisdom. How could shuttering school dorms and transitioning to online classes at Harvard and other top-tier colleges and... Continue Reading ⇒
JERUSALEM (JTA) — In late February, I flew to Long Island to help my 77-year-old mom following her knee replacement surgery.
I arrived in the United States with the remnants of a mild winter cold, a slight cough and runny nose — nothing I was concerned about. I... Continue Reading ⇒
CHICAGO (JTA) — I am an infectious disease epidemiologist who worked at the World Health Organization on epidemics in over 25 countries around the world.
As a physician and member of the Jewish community, I prize the Jewish teaching that places the saving of a life above all... Continue Reading ⇒
WASHINGTON (JTA) — As we approach the Purim holiday, we also approach the one-year anniversary of my own going public about being sexually harassed by mega-philanthropist Michael Steinhardt. Over the past year, as the Jewish community has reckoned with the #MeToo movement, I’ve reflected on the people and... Continue Reading ⇒
Sometime in the period after the release of the so-called “smartphone,” a curious thing occurred in America. With an immediate access to the Internet, everyday rank and file members of society had an unfiltered and unfettered ability to make their “likes” known and to inform other members of the public.
