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Perhaps the notion of a Jewish Valentine’s Day sounds odd. After all, Valentine’s Day combines the cultures of pagan Rome and early Christianity, so where does Judaism fit in? I know, it’s “really” a secular commercial day and even thinking about the day’s religious roots is “silly”. But those roots, be they Pagan, Christian or…

Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel said today that if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were assassinated, he would not shed a tear. I find this response entirely understandable, disturbing that it was said, and contrary to a powerful spiritual teaching from Jewish tradition about the emotions we attach to fighting against that which we think of…

The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family is sponsoring a “pro-life” ad, featuring football star Tim Tebow, during Sunday’s Super Bowl. Is it right to broadcast the ad? Does this kind of advertising needlessly politicize a sporting event? CBS made the wrong decision about this ad, but not for reasons most people suggest. Having…

Voodoo is more in the news since the earthquake in Haiti and lots of weird things are being said, especially about how other faiths do or should regard it. Here’s what I told Jonathan Mark over at the New York Jewish Week when he interviewed me for his wonderful article which even includes the story…

Forgiveness is hard. Both seeking it and granting it are complicated for most people most of the time. Yet we all have things for which we should be seeking forgiveness and almost as certainly those we need to forgive. Told by Toby Axelrod, the story of Eva Kor, a survivor of Nazi doctor-torturer, Josef Mengele…

This model of Auschwitz, the infamous death camp in which more than 1 million people were murdered by the Nazis, was recently displayed in Copenhagen where it was shown to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The work of Marco Evaristti, the model which is called Rolexgate, is made primarily out of gold teeth taken…

Tu B’Shevat 2010, or perhaps more appropriately 5770, begins at sunset on the 29th of January, which corresponds to the 15th of the month of Shevat in the Hebrew calendar. Although little observed since the time of the Temple, Tu B’Shevat is a beautiful day which rounds out the cycle of four New Years celebrations…

You gotta love this image which landed on my desk this morning, both because of how funny it is and how telling: While it’s true that no one will get thrown off an El Al Israel Airlines flight because someone thinks their tefillin is bomb, those who wear tefillin often gather for davening (prayer) in…

J. D. Salinger is dead at 91, and yes, I care — I loved and still love Catcher in the Rye. But the fact that so many Jewish journalists, pundits, etc. are focusing on the fact that he was Jewish or that his father was, is actually pretty weird. I mean who cares if Salinger…

I am currently a guest of both the United States government and the Foreign Ministry of Indonesia, participating in an unprecedented encounter, facilitated by New York-based Religions for Peace, between a group of faith leaders from the world’s most powerful nation (that’s us) and the world’s largest Muslim population (that’s them). I am also writing…
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