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A few days after Simchat Torah, October 2023

It’s a few days in now. It feels like weeks since we got word on the Simchas Torah holiday of the devastating Hamas attacks in Israel and learned more of its barbaric gruesomeness each day. In an earlier initial post Read the rest

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Simchat Torah 2023 News from Israel

Each year we always share the message that we in the diaspora have custom to dance Hakafot on Shemini-Atzeret night in solidarity with Israel, and they dance (Sheniyot) with us on our Simchas Torah (when their one-day holiday ends) – … Read the rest

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Esther Miriam’s “Bucket List” Project

by Esther Miriam (speech said at her Bas-Mitzvah celebration, Sukkot 5784/2023 explaining her Bas-Mitzvah “Bucket-List” project): 

Since I was young I had all these ideas of things I wanted to do. I like fun and adventure and trying new things. … Read the rest

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Keli Atah – and Esty (Rubin) Cohen

About the Alter Rebbe’s song “Keli Atah” & my sister Esty (Rubin) Cohen obm.

Tonight, after first two days of the Sukkot holiday, we hosted the annual communal Musical Night in the Sukkah in memory of my sister Esty (Rubin) … Read the rest

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YK: Our Yom Kippur “Open Door” Appeal 5784/2023

Each year at the close of Neilah, the 5th and final prayer service of Yom Kippur, we do a “Yom Kippur Appeal”. Unlike most synagogues, this isn’t an appeal for money and charitable contributions, but an appeal for a special … Read the rest

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The Missing F-35 Fighter Jet

Something incredibly bizarre and the source of much intense investigation happened this week leading up to Yom Kippur 2023:

A US Marine pilot ejected from an F-35 fighter jet flying over the Carolinas. Some emergency or mishap. Some say he … Read the rest

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How Often Do You Think of the Roman Empire?

Wow, this unusual question got online traction! And some of the answers from men were quite surprising! All this during the high holiday season of 2023, gotta be a message therein!

WHEN DO JEWS THINK OF ROME?

Jewishly, we certainly … Read the rest

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Our Composite Shabbos Shuva Drasha 2023

Rabbis are supposed to give an extra long sermon on the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known (for its Haftorah) as Shabbos Shuva. The way we do it here at UAlbany is to create a composite Shabbos Shuva … Read the rest

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NYSWI’s Albany Book Festival 2023 just before Yom Kippur

NYWSI (New York State Writers Institute) is a distinguished organization based at UAlbany that celebrates books and writers of books. It was originally founded (and still guided!) by the noted Pulitzer-prize winning novelist William Kennedy, who in addition to his … Read the rest

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Rosh Hashanah? I’m Chasing Elk!

A day or two before Rosh Hashanah I saw this tweet by Rabbi Chaim Bruk, the dynamic Chabad Rabbi in Montana. First I scrolled by, but then its significance hit me.

Of course, this prioritizing of Elk Chasing over Rosh … Read the rest

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