Every once in a while you take risk on an off-the-beaten-track restaurant that has escaped the orbit of Yelp and you discover some unexpected deliciousness. This was the case today, as my family made an excursion to Elizabeth, New Jersey for some Kosher Chinese cuisine. The name of the joint was New Kosher Special and it was replete with specials — in particular a lunch combo for under six bucks that we all agreed was the best value of any…
Right underneath a giant football (hey, it is singing day after all) the Huffington Post Religion section has published a piece I penned on the efforts to curb the sex trade in Israel. Thank you to the editors (Paul especially) for drawing attention to this issue.
At the end of Bill T. Jones’ new piece “Story/Time” he tells a story about the Jazz artists Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach. The two were working on a song by Thelonius Monk, rehearsing it so that Monk could drop by later and listen to their interpretation. They play the song for Monk and he listens intently. They look towards him for his reaction and he says: “Next time make a mistake.”
O.K. – this is not really about Tim Tebow. But the conversation about Tebow, and his near miraculous play, and his prayer pose, and all that, got me to look at an essay I wrote about ten years ago. I post it below for all folks who mix prayer and sports to enjoy. If God Ain’t A Tarheel Fan, Then Why Is The Sky in Carolina Blue? By Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner Nothing drives me more crazy than when I…
8:10 AM, Arch Street, Center City Philadelphia. Clicked it while stopped at a red light.
I am a fan of Rabbi Boteach’s books and essays and seeing that he had a piece up on the Algemeiner website on one of my favorite topics (the Yakov and Esav story) I stopped to read. But when I got to this line of Boteach, I nearly fell out of my chair. He writes: “Had the leaders of the Allies taken the advice of Einstein or Gandhi, the Nazis would have taken over the entire world, and the Jewish…
With a warm December day (thanks global scorching!) I suggested to the familia that we take the dog for a walk to a new park. Having exhausted most of the wooded areas nearby, I consulted Reb Google and then rallied the troops into the car to a destination in Paterson, NJ — a spot a mere 17 minutes from Montclair. After driving through an old factory district (with a beautiful brick something or other that has been converted into a…
My latest rant on football culture and parshat toldot is now running on the front page of New Jersey Jewish News (thanks again Andrew!) I reflect on the atrocities that occurred in connection to the Penn State football program and the wider culture that values loyalty and competition above all.