There are times when simple words are not good enough or sharp enough to get across a message. How can you thank a person that has given so much of himself, not only to a community, but especially to you?…
Jews in Politics: Bad for the Jews?
Several months ago, one of my uncles called me out of the blue. My uncle is one of the few red blooded conservatives who still dares to reside within the increasingly liberal New York City. He, like most of my…
The roots of BDS
In the summer of 2014, the Gaza-based terrorist organization Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians and used its terror tunnel network to launch attacks in Israeli territory. In response, Israel launched the defensive Operation Protective edge to eliminate…
A supranatural story: Starstruck by Seth
Some days we are lucky. And we see how the stars of our life align and arrange perfectly to create one of the million constellations in our individual galaxy we call life. Yesterday was such a time. — Flashback to…
Taste of Torah: Make Passover meaningful
Written by Rabbi David Eliezrie of Chabad of Yorba Linda It’s Passover night, and we are wondering to ourselves, “Haven’t we heard this story already?” We all know the basic narrative. The Jews were enslaved in Egypt. Moses confronts Pharaoh,…
Stav Shaffir in Beverly Hills
Last Wednesday, April 13, local members of the Jewish community filled the sanctuary at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills to listen to former social protest leader and current Zionist Union MK Stav Shaffir. The event, hosted by J Street Los…
Project Tzedek at UCLA takes the 2016 Walk to End Genocide
“Genocide” is a term that the Jewish community does not take lightly. By definition, genocide is the systematic elimination of a group due to their particular culture, ethnicity, religion, race, or nationality. If a person were to delve into a…
Sephardic Heritage Initiative invites Rabbi Shofet to speak
At YULA High School last Thursday night, Rabbis David and Yedidia Shofet were invited to speak about Iranian Jewish history for the school’s “Initiative for Sephardi Jewish Heritage.” The event, entitled “Between Purim and Pesach: Insights from the Iranian Jewish…
“My Favorite Things: College Edition”
Days I can sleep in and very small classes No lines at the test bank and early-ish passes Waking up promptly when my alarm rings These are a few of my favorite things Sales on school gear and PDF textbooks…
Taste of Torah: “So you think you understand what’s pure and impure?”
As we continue our trek through the book of Leviticus, we are continuously confronted with laws of tumah (purity) and tahara (impurity). These laws, which for some time in history made up the majority of Jewish practice, seem almost completely archaic and meaningless in…