“Last Letters From the Holocaust: 1944,” an online exhibit from Yad Vashem, has arrived on its website just in time for Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), which this year corresponds to May 2. By DEBORAH FINEBLUM (JNS) – Millions of Jews who were taken to their deaths during the Holocaust on cattle cars, and we will never know how many […]

(My Jewish Learning via JTA) Here are nine things that many likely wouldn’t know about the Festival of Freedom: 1. In Gibraltar, there’s dust in the charoset. The traditional charoset is a sweet Passover paste whose texture is meant as a reminder of the mortar the enslaved Jews used to build in ancient Egypt. The name itself is related to […]

By BRIAN D. JOHNSON MADISON, Wisconsin (JTA) – Somewhere, there’s a photograph: My future father-in-law is sitting at the head of the table. My future mother-in-law is sitting to his left and I’m sitting on his right, wearing a suit, tie and kippah. My stunningly beautiful fiancée is next to me, and the rest of the table consists of three […]

By Rabbi RAYMOND APPLE Was matzah something new? Matzah existed before the exodus. Since the Egyptians are said to have pioneered the leavening process in baking bread, unleavened bread must previously have been the norm. Even when leavened bread became available, it was probably limited to the aristocracy and the wealthy. It was too expensive for the ordinary person, who […]

By LINDA PRESSMAN (Kveller via JTA) – When I see the giant gefilte fish and matzah display at Costco in late February, it sends me into a panic. I think, is it time for gefilte fish already? I think that finding the holiday foods, including that gigantic jar of gefilte fish, is not easy and maybe I should stockpile now. […]

(Roots of the USA) Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative” Based on ancient Jewish Sages, April12, 2019, https://bit.ly/2Ignz6s More on Passover and other Jewish holidays: http://bit.ly/137Er6J The Early Pilgrims and Founding Fathers of the USA were inspired by Passover’s message of optimism while facing severe challenges and threats. Moses and the US leaders catapulted their peoples from […]

SCHENECTADY–“Seders In Service: Jewish War Veterans Recall their Passover Memories” will be the theme of the Sunday, April 14, Congregation Gates of Heaven Brotherhood Breakfast-and-A-Speaker Program. It will feature a panel of five veterans led by Paul Zonderman, Vietnam veteran and commander of the Jewish War Veterans Post 106 in Schenectady. Zonderman will be joined by veterans from across the […]

CLIFTON PARK–The Clifton Park Chabad has announced a variety of April programing. The monthly Tot Shabbat has been set for Friday, April 5, at 6:15 p.m. Passover will be featured at the “4D Kids Passover Experience” on Sunday, April 14, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Clifton Park Senior Center, 6 Clifton Common Blvd., Clifton Park. Simulated time travel, interactive 3D […]

ALBANY–In the spirit of tikkun olam, five congregations will join to fulfill a variety of mitzvahs on Sunday, April 7, Mitzvah Day. The five Albany congregations involved are Congregations Beth Emeth, Beth Abraham-Jacob, B’nai Sholom, Temple Israel and Ohav Shalom. Check-in and lunch, prepared by Congregation Ohav Shalom, will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Beth Emeth, 100 Academy Rd. Individuals […]