The Ansche Chesed blog is a place where you can find enriching material to read about God, Torah and the Jewish People.
CHOOSE LIFE Kol Nidre, 5777 EROS This year, several articles in the Jewish press, from Haaretz to the Forward encouraged Jews to avoid synagogues on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. These allegedly “awesome days” are too solemn, stiff, even morose. Confessing sins is a major downer! Jews should come instead for the joy of Sukkot,… Read more »
As the Obamas exit and the Trumps enter, America’s and American Jews’ relationship to Israel are frazzling. Several AC members expressed dismay about America’s abstention from a UN resolution critical of Israel and Sec. Kerry’s extremely blunt speech about whether the two-state solution has any future. Others are panicked that David Friedman will be America’s… Read more »
This year, our AC Wednesday night Talmud class is studying an excellent chapter (Bava Batra, Chap. 2) about responsible use of land, environmental hazards and zoning — the rules which enable us to be good and safe neighbors. (If you have never come to our class, please join us! We meet Wednesday at 7pm, followed… Read more »
Every politician’s favorite feel-good line – oft-attributed to de Tocqueville, wrongly – is that “America is great because America is good.” Hillary Clinton cited it often during the campaign, to tell us a story about ourselves, to make voters attend to some aspiration supposedly growing native in our national character to prize liberty, justice, fairness,… Read more »
Last Shabbat we read a parasha of death. Both Sarah and Abraham pass from the world in their ripe old ages, 127 and 175 respectively. And despite all the havoc Abraham wreaked upon his sons, Ishmael and Isaac, at last they join together to bury him lovingly in the cave at Machpela. All… Read more »
