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May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review

An evil seed that didn't have to be

By Binyamin L. Jolkovsky
Based on ideas developed by Rabbi Ahron Rapps




Esau, and eventually his descendants, would become Jewry's arch-enemy. History just doesn't happen. The lives of those who are at its center deserve examining. What can be learned from Easu's?


According to the Sages, Easu possessed great spiritual qualities. His father, after all was Isaac, a direct link to Abraham. And he was Isaac's oldest son.


But like so many born with potential, Esau never brought his gifts to fruition. The development and growth that was to be the purpose of his life never occurred.


At birth Esau had features — particularly, hair — of somebody considerably older. And it is for this reason that he was so named, according to the foremost commentator, Rashi. The name Esau is a derivative of the Hebrew word "assa", meaning "make." Esau emerged from his mother's womb already "made", so to speak.


What was it about Esau's hair, though, that made this so evident?


Rabbi Judah Loew, known as the Maharal of Prague (1525-1609) and one of the most seminal thinkers in the post-medieval period, explains the essence of hair. The human body grows and, eventually, reaches its maturity; at which point it is complete. Hair, however, grows and grows, only to be shorn. The hair of the head never reaches completeness. With his full mane, Esau, at birth, appeared to have skipped the growth that all people must experience to reach their destiny. He was identified as one who must rise above his born nature and become spiritually complete. Yet instead of conquering his pre-dispositions, his life's choices would make him the personification of one who never fulfilled his great potential.


One of those choices that would ultimately impact Esau's spiritual makeup was his lack of circumcision.


The Maharal wonders why the Divine left it to man to complete the physical structure of a human being when everything else in our world seems to have been put in working order. He answers that the act of circumcision, for those commanded to observe it, was entusted to teach that just as we must physically complete ourselves, we are likewise required to spiritually complete ourselves. Through the process of circumcision, we are able to glean the actual purpose of our lives.

Without the desire to grow, tomorrow is condemned to the inadequacy of today

When Esau was young, according to the Sages, there was a concern that due to his ruddiness, if his foreskin were removed, he might bleed to death. When Esau became physically stable, he rebelled and refused to perform this religious duty. He refused to embrace his purpose of life; to develop and perfect his spiritual nature.


The Torah describes at length the exchange between Jacob and Esau about the birthright. One verse in particular epitomizes Esau's worldview: "Here I am going to die," proclaimed the man who was to be Isaac's spiritual heir, "so what good is the birthright to me?"


To Esau, the future is indeed bleak, for without the desire to grow, tomorrow is condemned to the inadequacy of today. He would not live a life of development; to one day have his great spiritual destiny realized. But in Jacob, we see a future.


In describing why Yaakov (Jacob) was so called, the Torah says it was because Isaac's son emerged grasping his brother's heel.


The lowliest part of a person's body is the heel (eikev); it is closest to the ground. The head is the highest and closer to the heavens. In the Holy Tongue, the letter "Yud" is used to portray the future when referring to a third person. Our forefather Jacob was named "Yaakov" — eikev plus a "Yud" — to reveal to us that he will take the ultimate end and give it a future.


Our sages tell us, "Jacob, in some sense, didn't die." Absolute death is found only by one who has died while alive. Our responsibility is to recognize our latent imperfections and strive to develop our spiritual potentials. The Divine gave us His Torah and mitzvos (religious duties) with which to grow and realize what we truly are meant to be.


May we merit to truly represent the holy children of Jacob.

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