Hanukkah (spelled various ways, Chanukah is also popular) is a holiday of history, legend, miracles and inspiration. In many ways, the modern state of Israel is a modern Maccabee. Let me explain. After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split in two, later Babylon conquered half, destroyed the First Temple and the […]
Celebrating the Life of Elie Wiesel
It’s like the song, “Seasons of Love’ How do you measure, measure a year? How do we measure the first year remembering the life and legacy of Elie Wiesel? Boston University had a special day on September 17, “A Day of Learning and Celebration; Celebrating the Life of Elie Wiesel in Word, Image, and Music.” […]
Wrapping Oneself in Creative Prayer
Hiddur Mitzvah– literally the beautifying of a mitzvah is expressed so perfectly in a handmade prayer shawl- a tallit. I’ve been making them for over 20 years since my oldest became a Bar Mitzvah. It was my dream to make one for my four sons and other family members, so that there would be several […]
Thoughts on Teaching the Holocaust
There are more questions than answers. Perhaps there are no good answers anyway, but we must ask the questions to remain human. Elie Wiesel of blessed memory was the teacher of teachers, our modern day prophet who dared ask questions and dared to admit there are no good answers. His answer was to remember- remember […]
Rare Recordings of Elie Wiesel
A Sing-along with Elie Wiesel In l976 I entered a classroom full of hopes and dreams, hoping to study with Prof. Elie Wiesel at Boston University and dreaming of singing a Yiddish song for him, and even better, with him. Who knew that this classroom would lead to a lifetime of meaningful study, song and […]
More Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom Part 2
Reviewing notes from my classes with Prof. Elie Wiesel always reveal something new, something inspiring and something it seems no one else can describe as he did. As I go through my notes of lectures and classes, I hope to keep a record of these lessons and share them as time permits. From a lecture, […]
More Lessons From Elie Wiesel’s Classroom
The privilege of studying in Elie Wiesel’s classroom was so profound; I felt it never stopped when I graduated. Every time I would attend a lecture at BU or the 92nd St. Y I would take notes and sometimes write them up as an essay just for the experience. To save and savor the experience […]
Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom
I grew up in a very Jewishly musical family- I knew my great grandfather Pinchas , lived in Kalisz, Poland ,was a hazzan/shochet, a cantor and a butcher because in those days you needed a real day job- so many were knowledgeable rabbis and cantors- I knew my grandfather was a famous cantor who […]
Songs of the season, and of the spirit
If not now, when? It is a question people often ask themselves about things they would like to do “someday,” especially when they learn of the death of someone they know. And so it was for Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray of Temple Shearith Israel in Ridgefield earlier this year. A fourth-generation cantor who had done many […]
Four CDS, Four Bucket List Checks!
Time is precious- we all know that. Sometimes we feel the race of time more keenly than other times. When we are young in years, we have no fear of our final days, no awareness that this journey may have an end to it. As we get older, reading obituaries and breathing a sigh of […]