Friedman’s master class
I was at the Minneapolis Talmud Torah event honoring Thomas Friedman, and came away with a different impression of what happened (“About People,” 5-27-11 AJW).
There were two people pressing Friedman about Israel; but there were many more who were mesmerized by the extraordinary insight and perspective he brought to understanding the rapidly evolving [...]

Brilliant author, rabbi
I read with interest Neal Gendler’s review of Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza.
Another equally fascinating book about the discovery of the Geniza is The Sacred Treasure: The Cairo Genizah (Jewish Lights Publishing) by Rabbi Mark Glickman.
Glickman is a congregational rabbi in the Seattle area. His book [...]

Israel’s security needs
I deeply appreciate Alisa Warshavsky’s column, “Support Israel in a time of crisis” (4-1-11 AJW). It’s great to read something truthful about what life in Israel is really like.
As anyone who has been to Israel knows, life on the ground there is complex, mostly peaceful and noticeably busy, with groups active in Jewish-Palestinian [...]

A replay of Operation Cast Lead would be stupidity squared
By MOSHE GIT
Reportedly, Judge Richard Goldstone, the person who headed up the commission that investigated Israel’s Cast Lead campaign in the Gaza Strip more than two years ago, became agitated when he heard Eli Yishai, Israel’s Interior Minister, declare that Goldstone would himself withdraw the report [...]

Bush league kosher
We are happy to learn of the interest shown by Target Field in making kosher hot dogs available at Twins ballgames. We are less excited to learn that a local Conservative rabbi has chosen to undertake the project in a way that alienates a sizable percentage of the kosher-consuming population, without members of [...]

Iran is on course to develop an atomic bomb, which isn’t all bad for Israel
By MOSHE GIT
The latest round of the United Nations Security Council imposition of sanctions on Iran was appalling. It was nothing more than paying lip service. Meaningful sanctions would have involved an embargo on fuel exports to Iran.
Not many are aware [...]

Kashrut standards should be revisited and the opportunities further expanded to make keeping kosher more affordable, more available and more attractive
By RABBI ALEXANDER DAVIS
The closing of Fishman’s Delicatessen and Bakery is a loss for our Twin Cities community (2-4-11 AJW). For well over a decade, Fishman’s has fed our stomachs and souls. They sold and [...]

Singer and songwriter Debbie Friedman was a talented woman who used her gift in the most positive manner possible

By JUDY GIT

On Jan. 9, a bright light went out of this world. Debbie Friedman passed away.
Debbie grew up in St. Paul; her first step towards becoming an internationally known singer and songwriter who enriched [...]

Your story “Kicking back against clawback” (1.7.11 AJW) reiterates misperceptions that add confusion and unnecessary heartache in the aftermath of the Madoff fraud.
As Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS), I am guided in all actions by existing law and precedent. It is a sad but frequently overlooked fact [...]

Here’s a new list of commandments designed to strengthen the Jewish community from generation to generation

By RABBI YOSI GORDON

In her piece titled “A new Ten Commandments,” Archie Gottesman offered some gutsy rules intended to keep Judaism alive from generation to generation (12-10-10 AJW). At the end, she wrote that, if we readers have [...]