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Dec. 3, 2008

Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning

Don Terry: Lifetime, no see

Dec. 2, 2008

Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world

Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack

Dec. 1, 2008

Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings

Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?

Nov. 28, 2008

Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be

Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?

Nov. 26, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership

Andrea Simantov: Shades of life

Nov. 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence

The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!

Nov. 24, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'

Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends

Nov. 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov. 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Sept. 24, 2008 / 24 Elul 5768

Home for the Holy Days

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Happy Rosh Hashanah! Can you believe it's 5769 already? Time flies. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was dating my checks 5760. Jewish New Year celebrates the creation of the world and is a time for reflection and self evaluation. It is one of the Jewish tradition's holiest days, the days when Jews most commonly attend services at synagogue. Rosh Hashanah begins this year (2008) on the evening of September 29th. Save the date.


DREADING JUDAISM'S MOST SPIRITUALLY
UPLIFTING SEASON? YOU AREN'T ALONE!

Every year at this time, JWR receives requests from SINCERE Jews who, knowing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are just days away, are frustrated. They want to get something meaningful out of the season, but don't know where to turn.

The synagogue or temple they DON'T attend during the year doesn't lift their spirit. It may be because the rabbi's sermons -- which often include a political bent -- aren't to their liking. It may be because they don't want to compete in a fashion show. Or, simply, that their level of Hebrew fluency isn't adequate.

In the past, I've directed my correspondents to local groups that I felt they'd grow and gain from. THIS YEAR, a friend has compiled an online list of such places. Each service is MEANINGFUL, COMFORTABLE & NON-JUDGMENTAL --- and EASY TO FOLLOW AND UNDERSTAND. Many are FREE. The ones that aren't, are reasonably priced. (No memberships to buy, either). And, truth be told, NOBODY WILL TURNED AWAY IF IN FACT THE SITUATION WARRANTS IT.

Here's the website: http://www.HighHolidayService.com.

PLEASE forward and post this info to those who might gain from it.

There's an old joke that really says more of the modern secular Jewish American family then it does about Rosh Hashanah itself. It goes like this: A father calls his son, David, in New York and says "I hate to tell you this, but your mother and I can't stand each other anymore and have decided to get a divorce! Enough is enough! I want to live out the rest of my life in peace. I'm telling this to you now so that you and your sister shouldn't go into shock later when I move out!"


The father hangs up and the son immediately calls up his sister in the Hamptons and tells her the news. The sister says, "I'll handle this!" She immediately calls Florida and gets her father on the phone. "Please, Daddy, please don't do ANYTHING until David and I get there! We'll be there Friday night." "Alright," the father says. "We won't do anything until you get here." He hangs up the phone and hollers to his wife, "Okay, Sadie, they're coming for Rosh Hashanah but we'll have to come up with something else for Passover."


It might make for a funny joke, but the idea that mom and dad have to coerce their kids to come to a religious family get together is a sad commentary on Jewish American life. According to internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia, assimilation into our modern secular culture has been a major factor in the declining rate of religious Jews in America.


"The same social and cultural characteristics of the United States of America that facilitated the extraordinary economic, political, and social success of the American Jewish community have also been attributed to contributing to widespread assimilation, a controversial and significant issue in the modern American Jewish community. While not all Jews disapprove of intermarriage, many members of the Jewish community have become concerned that the high rate of interfaith marriage will result in the eventual disappearance of the American Jewish community."


The article goes on to say that intermarriage rates have risen from roughly 6% in 1950 to approximately 40%-50% in the year 2000. This in combination with the comparatively low birthrate in the Jewish community, has led to a 5% decline in the Jewish population of the United States in the 1990s with only about 33% of intermarried couples raising their children with a Jewish religious upbringing. That's a lot of people not coming home for Rosh Hashanah.


Our Jewishness is a lot more than bagels and lox and an extensive Barbra Streisand record collection. It goes deeper than uttering a few Yiddish phrases and putting on a yarmulke at weddings and funerals. Its even more than just a way of life - it's a way of thinking.


For those non-religious Jews who would like to rediscover their heritage, there's no better time to do it than the High Holy Days. And there's no better way to do it than to contact a local synagogue. There are plenty around.


A lot of the time a synagogue won't want to turn away a Jew who wants to pray on the High Holidays, so if you want to go and cannot afford it, then call up a synagogue and see what they can do.


Have a happy and inspirational Rosh Hashanah. And go be with your family for the holidays if you can.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

Greg Crosby Archives

© 2006, Greg Crosby

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