It’s been close to half a century since Annie Johnson planned her own funeral. Annie Johnson was the black housekeeper played by actress Juanita Moore in the remake of the all-time tear-jerker movie “Imitation of Life.” Knowing that her death was imminent, Annie – much to the chagrin of Miss Lora (played by Lana Turner) – leaves no stone unturned, […]
Israel is a stain on humanity. As incredulous a charge as this may be, there are a goodly number of Jews both in Israel as well as in the diaspora who believe this to be true. Furthermore, these Jews feel it a mitzvah of the highest order to convince you that their belief is sacrosanct. For Palestinian nationalists to hurl […]
Not that I’ve conducted any studies, but I can’t help but feel that there will be topics that any number of rabbis in this country will address in their sermons. Unlike so many other rabbis, the rabbi of Tiferet Israel wouldn’t touch these topics with a ten-foot pole. To borrow a cliché: “Now (Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur) is not […]
Webster’s New World Dictionary offers two definitions for the word “deluge”: a great flood; an overwhelming flood-like rush of anything. Given what continues to unfold in Houston since last weekend, Webster’s appears to be accurate with both definitions. Heaven opened up its floodgates and left us speechless, as we vainly searched for the appropriate words to describe the destruction and […]
As one who is generally unimpressed with the Press (and that’s putting it mildly), I was delighted to read a story last week, in which journalists actually covered the Palestinian – Israeli conflict from a human interest point of view! Rather than fanning the flames of animosity, journalists were actually able to get their story, even though it was based […]
Every so often, a new prayer book or High Holiday Machzor makes a debut. As leader of a congregation who replaced a tried and true High Machzor a few years ago, far be it from me to speak out against new texts. What I do take issue with however, is the reason for the change. Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements […]
