In a feature article on CNN’s Web site this week, Jessica Ravitz writes about “the New Jews” out there, blazing a new, glorious trail in the latest chapter of the American Jewish experience.

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai about 3,300 years ago, he couldn’t have seen these Jews coming,” charges Ms. Ravitz.

The article chronicles the… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/04/09 at 01:31 PM | Comments (0)

Saving Face

Last week’s funeral at Beth El Congregation to mourn the loss of Rabbi Mark G. Loeb was a veritable “Who’s Who of Baltimore Jewry.”

I must admit, I didn’t see too many “black hats” in the crowd—not a shocker since Rabbi Loeb always wore his liberal views on his sleeve, thus becoming the embodiment of everything that’s wrong… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/20/09 at 03:31 PM | Comments (3)

Memories Of Mark

Rabbi Mark G. Loeb’s sudden passing on Wednesday night is a shock for all of us who knew this incredible man and respected him. Everyone knows that Rabbi Loeb was brilliant and a powerful speaker to boot. He was also capable of enormous compassion and empathy, and could be quite acerbic and straightforward at times. That’s what we… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/08/09 at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)

Host Of Concerns

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure I’ll ever feel the same way about David Letterman again.

Since the late night talk show host made his dramatic confession on TV last week that he was being blackmailed for $2 million for having numerous affairs with female employees, I’ve been talking to different people about Letterman. It seems… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/05/09 at 10:14 AM | Comments (2)

A Luddite’s Lament

On occasion, I’ve been accused by friends of being a “Luddite.” What’s a Luddite? By definition, a Luddite is someone who is opposed to technological changes, a term dating back to early 19th-century England when textile artisans protested the Industrial Revolution. (The leader of these upstarts was reportedly someone who went by the sobriquet “King Ludd.”)

Of course,… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/25/09 at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)

He’s The One

“So you’re scared and you’re thinkin’ that maybe we ain’t that young anymore.”

You know these words. You’ve heard them more than a billion times. They’re seared into your brain at this point, like a mantra.

Today is Bruce Springsteen’s 60th birthday.

Yes, you read that right.

Sixty.

How can that be possible?

For nearly as long as… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/23/09 at 08:30 AM | Comments (1)

Politics, Jimmy And Mary

A day or two before the general elections last November, my wife ran into what I’ll call a “quasi-relative” of mine and his son-in-law. They were all schmoozing harmlessly – the kids, the weather, the stock market, nuclear fission, world peace, etc. – when my quasi-relative, a rather crusty, self-assured fella in his early 70s who enjoys offering… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/17/09 at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

Lame Stuff

So let me get this straight—the president of the United States wants to talk to the nation’s schoolchildren about the importance of education next Tuesday, Sept. 8, and the conservatives are riled up? When did we become an anti-education nation?

The speech, which is to be live-streamed from the White House Web site, is President Obama’s manipulative attempt… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/04/09 at 08:42 AM | Comments (3)

Remembering Teddy

Sometimes, even when you’ve had a fleeting brush with fame and greatness, memory has a way of tricking you and then chuckling right in your face.

That happened to me last weekend while intermittently watching on television the funeral service, procession and burial of Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy. As the commentators spoke about Senator Kennedy’s distinguished service to… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/31/09 at 03:24 PM | Comments (0)

Dinosaur Mentality

The other day, I was sitting at a stoplight, behind a pick-up truck, spacing out. Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to some silly tune on the radio, I noticed the truck’s bumper-sticker, with the words, “Secession: It’s The Right Thing To Do.”

I have to admit, my first impulse after seeing this bumper sticker was to… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/07/09 at 11:11 AM | Comments (3)