I don’t know about you, but I don’t have much time to fuss in the kitchen when it comes close to the end of the quarter. Long marathons of writing papers and studying take their caloric toll, though, so, unless…
Taste of Torah: Making happiness happen
Written by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Co-Director of Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) at UCLA — This Jewish month of Adar is a time of extreme happiness! The miracle of the Purim story, taken place in Adar, and the enormous salvation that occurred is…
Cleaning up Israel’s politics
During his term as Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert hoped to make history by brokering a historic deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nearly a decade later, he succeeded in making history, albeit for…
“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?”
My experience at the Bayit began after I was asked this question: “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?” This question has been in the “Bayit Interview Question Bank” for a few years,…
The Walls: A political cartoon
Politician Awareness Week(PAW): A Great UCLA Tradition This political cartoon was written by Daniel Peikes and illustrated by Shaina Kashanirokh.
Light out of Darkness: Memories of the Holocaust
This past Wednesday, Feb. 17, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of Andrew Rosenstein’s senior film project, Light out of Darkness: Memories of the Holocaust. Running just under two hours, the film documents the stories, memories and testimonials of…
Taste of Torah: A flickering ner tamid
One of the most notable pieces of this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Tetzaveh, is the commandment to create within Jewish sanctuaries a ner tamid, “a constantly burning light” (Exodus 27: 20-21). When I embarked on new paths on my Jewish journey, one of…
Kosher Korner: Cuckoo for kuku sabzi
Ah, there’s nothing like coming home and finding a hot, fresh pan of kuku sabzi sizzling on the stove. For those unfamiliar with the dish, kuku sabzi is a famous Iranian frittata-like food made with herbs. It looks and tastes much like a prepared…
Bernie Sanders wins New Hampshire (and other observations)
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders became the first Jewish-American ever to win a presidential primary. Sanders defeated former New York Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a margin of 22.4 percent, with 60.4 percent of…
Of prophets and politics
Among all of the ridiculousness that is this years presidential race, this past week, Republican candidate Ted Cruz welcomed the support of televangelist Mike Bickle in a statement which can be read here. To be quite frank with you, this really…