The Gaza War First the enemy dug under my heart and filled in my arteries with cement. My mind plays back the aerial footage, night-vision, my international center for compassion bombed into a billion bits of dust. Every day I erect protective edges. When the dust clears there is: A hole. And buried under the hole? Missiles. And buried under the missiles? Holes. My ears have been hit by two thousand missiles. The missile…
One of the great things about writing for the Huffington Post is that people read what you write. My piece on religious freedom, contraception, and the Hobby Lobby decision went up two weeks ago and already there are 2,300 likes on Facebook and over a hundred comments written on the piece. When Will the U.S. Supreme Court Protect the Freedoms of Religious People Who Use Contraceptives? Posted: 06/30/2014 1:41 pm I must admit that I was shocked to read about…
Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina during the height of the PTL Network – Jim and Tammy Faye Baker’s Megachurch – I always wanted my chance to get equal airtime on the T.V. Through our local PBS affiliate and the work of Chabad I finally got my chance. I’m the shy boy (wink) in this staged family…it is number 3 on the playlist.
Katy Perry’s Birthday video is a classic example of “acceptable” racism. I’ve got a piece running in the Huffington Post on the surprisingly one-dimensional anti-Jewish caricature in the video of the pop superstar which can also be read below:
Looking for a Pharrell Williams parody? Leave it to the Jewtwins to bring their dark humor to the latest pop candy. Their take on Pharrell Williams wonderful dance number “Happy” features a cameo by me, returning from the Y on my bicycle. Enjoy!
This is not your typical Passover song. “Goodbye Egyptland” Words and Music by Daniel Brenner This song is written from the perspective of one of the “mixed multitude” – an Egyptian who watches the destruction of the plagues and chooses to join the Hebrews in their escape from Egypt. I wanted to counter the “silly songs” about the plagues that I’ve heard over the years and offer a new perspective on the tale we tell each seder night.
What exactly is the egg doing on the seder plate? Why do we serve eggs on Passover? The roasted orb has been a guest of honor for generations and hardly a word has been spoken in its direction. The matzah, the shank bone, the bitter herbs — they generate the buzz year after year. But what would you say about the egg? After polling some of my friends, I came up with a list of things we’ve heard about the…
Need a fun play for your seder? This free Passover Play is a 10 minute script for all ages I wrote this kid and adult friendly alternative to the Maggid section (the Passover story section) of the Haggadah when my kids were in elementary school. This short play is a contemporary take which makes the story current but stays true to the Exodus narrative. I’ve written it for large crowds — so there are 13 parts, but if you have…
Sharing the wonderful words of Torah delivered from the pulpit of B’nai Keshet in Montclair, New Jersey by my daughter on the occasion of her bat mitzvah: Listen carefully to this story from the Talmud: Two people are traveling in the wilderness, and only one of them has a canteen of water. There is only a little bit of water and if they split the water they will both die, but if one of them drinks the whole thing, they…