Talmud of America
My recent posts..."Talmud of America" Pardes Institute, a non-denominational study center based in Jerusalem, offers immersive Jewish learning around the world. One project is “Talmud of America,” which aims to illuminate and interpret, through Jewish eyes, some...
Twilight Zone
My recent posts...Twilight Zone בֵּין הַשְׁמָשׁוֹת Bein hashemashot, literally, between the suns. בֵּין הַשְׁמָשׁוֹת A twilight zone of time, or rather, out of time, between one day and the next. Our sages of old used this concept to explain certain miraculous...
When to Pray Yizkor
My recent posts...My edited comments from this past final day of Pesach. Ellie’s mom, Julia Helfman, died on her 95th birthday, December 24, 2025. This was the first Yizkor service Ellie feels obligated to attend. She said, “I’m now a member of a club I was not eager...
Timing
It had become a Kremer household Pesach tradition, or rather, a pre-Pesach tradition. Somewhere within a couple of days prior the first seder and noon on erev Pesach, something would go awry in the kitchen.
Run – Hide – Fight
Worst Massacre Since the Previous Massacre
Waking up to news of a mass shooting at a Chabad-organized Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, I checked some online news sources. Associated Press reported that the Australian Prime Minister condemned the incident as “an attack on every Australian.”
That AP report included this:
The massacre followed a wave of antisemitic attacks that have roiled Australia over the past year, although the authorities didn’t suggest those episodes and Sunday’s mass shooting were connected.
Dear Australian authorities, I can help here. One thing connects all those attacks: They targeted JEWS!
We seethe at the callous terrorists, we mourn with those whose loved ones were killed and we ache for the wounded who may never fully recover. (Can anyone fully recover?) We mourn another loss of innocence, we reluctantly consider the costs of adding more security and the potential costs of not doing so.
At a JFED security training last week, we reviewed the RUN – HIDE – FIGHT responses to an active shooter. Those actions are also our options for living Jewishly; only one of them will have any lasting effect: FIGHT!
We fight such attacks when we show up, when we teach our children, when we proudly display our Hanukkah candles in street-facing windows.
Show up! Light up!
2:00 TODAY (12/14/2025) Community Chanukah Celebration at the JCC
5:15 TODAY (12/14/2025) Community Menorah Lighting at the Chabad Center in Ventnor!
… and look for other gatherings you can enrich with your presence.