Holocaust

Sandy picks up her granddaughters, Kami and Ari, from Camp Newman, the Reform camp in Santa Rosa, CA.

August 22, 2017 4

What Do We Tell Our Grandchildren?

As Baby Boomers I can imagine you had some of the experiences I had back in the 50s when walking into a room of our parents and grandparents, and other elders, and hearing [Read more...]

President Richard Nixon meets with national security advisor Henry Kissinger, October 8, 1973. (US Government Photo)

February 19, 2017 1

Jews in leadership – Jews in The White House

Editor’s Note: Rabbi Larry Kotok (Jewishidentitynow@gmail.com) is recently retired as senior rabbi of Temple Brith Kodesh in Rochester, NY. He lives in South Florida [Read more...]

Rabbi Jonathan Kendall's daughter, right, with Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel

July 9, 2016 0

Good Night Sweet Prince

One inevitable and inescapable rabbinic responsibility is to write eulogies. In these days of multiple family members and acquaintances invited to speak at the levaya, the [Read more...]

Formerly known as Concordia Square, this served as the central square of the Kraków ghetto and the deportation spot of Kraków Jews between 1941-43. The square was refurbished at the end of 2005 and the memorial installed. It features 33 large illuminated chairs in the square and 37 smaller chairs standing on the edge of the square and at the tram stops. The chairs represent the furniture and other remnants that were discarded on that very spot by the ghetto’s Jews as they were herded into the trains that would often take them to concentration camps. One of the memorial’s designers, Piotr Lewicki, said: “First, a quarter of the town’s residents had to leave their homes and go to the closed-off area of Podgórze. Then the ghetto was reduced in size, and the people were divided according to whether or not they could work, whether they were sick or healthy etc. As a result people were constantly resettling, bringing all their belongings with them. They also took chairs with them, the furniture closest to the body. When the ghetto was liquidated, the Jews had to move to the Płaszów camp, and anything that wasn't needed remained in the square. We wanted to draw reference to that moment precisely. There must have been an incredible silence, it must have been completely empty.” (Photo by Jennifer Boyer via Flickr.com. Used under Creative Commons 2.0 License)

March 8, 2016 0

Holocaust Survivor Born to Be a Caregiver

Editor’s Note: Rita Ross was married for close to 50 years, during which time she raised five children (four boys and a girl), taught first grade at Solomon Schechter [Read more...]

September 24, 2010 0

Conversation with a new friend from France

Anthony Selvitella, LCSW “Let us now relate the awesomeness of this day’s holiness,” the Unetanneh Tokef commences. This year, the day’s [Read more...]

July 1, 2010 0

D’var Torah: When the truth is found to be lies: The Coen brothers’ Rorschach for serious people

I learned about Jewish spirituality in a yoga class in 1971. I lay prone on the carpeted floor, relaxing after achieving the challenging Bridge posture for the first time. I [Read more...]

May 1, 2010 0

Physician as Wounded Healer – Dr. Donald Friedman, MD

The concept of the physician as a wounded healer and how it can positively affect the practice of medicine has been around for a long time. In Greek mythology. Chiron was [Read more...]