In the Loop
Here’s how one deaf man stays in the loop during the Passover holiday.
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Book Reviews | Books | Bullies | Historical Fiction | Judaism | New Adult | School | Teen Books | YA Books | YA fiction
The Merry-Go-Round Man: A Metaphor on Life
In 1954, while still in elementary school, best friends Lee Esner, Jimmy Wiggins, and Johnny Roth create a game: “Whoever gets there [top of the merry-go-round] first is the real King of the Mountain. Whoever wins is Champ for life. For the rest of his life he’s on Easy Street!” Lee was the handsome one,…
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American Sign Language | Deaf | Disabilities | education | History | Hunger | Judaism
Deaf Jews and the Holocaust
On November 9, 2019 Valley Beth Shalom, in Encino, California hosted a program in commemoration of the 81stAnniversary of Kristallnacht entitled “Rescuing History: Kristallnacht and ‘The Holocaust Through the Eyes of Deaf Jews’.” (Kristallnacht was two nights of violence perpetrated against the Jewish communities of Germany and Austria on November 9-10, 1938.) It was a…
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American Sign Language | Deaf | Disabilities | education | Hard-of-hearing | History | Jewish Holidays | Judaism | non-fiction
Judaism and the Deaf Jew
I was a member of Temple Judea, a reform synagogue in Tarzana, California, for twenty-five years. Even after a virus robbed me of most of my hearing and forced me out of my tenured sixth grade teaching assignment, I stayed a temple member. Though I couldn’t understand a word of the rabbi’s sermons or capable…
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The Golden Rule: A way to solve the bully problem
Aristotle explained that the best way to live our lives is to treat others the way we want to be treated. Aristotle reasoned that if we all lived by this Golden Rule, we wouldn’t need government. Two hundred years later Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish sage, was asked to explain the Torah while standing on one…
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Why Matzah?
Dear Pop, Last year I was invited to my first Passover Seder at a home in Encino. I really enjoyed myself as everyone read from the Haggadah, the spiritual text, but that matzah. Why do Jews eat that tasteless, flour/water flatbread for eight days and why do some Jews have two Seders? Curious Christian Dear…
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The Passover story: Fact or Fiction?
Passover, the Jewish celebration of the Exodus, begins Friday evening, April 19, 2019 with the first Seder, and ends Saturday evening, April 27. This is the time when Jews throughout the world remember the years their ancestors were slaves in Egypt and escaped under the leadership of Moses. Carol Meyers, an archeologist and professor…
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New Years Around the World
Celebrating New Year on January 1 is a relatively new trend. New Year’s Day, a civil event and a date not fixed by any natural seasonal marker, was first celebrated by the Romans. They picked this date to honor their god Janus, the god of all beginnings. A double-faced head represented Janus with…
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A True Chanukah Story: George Washington’s First Chanukah
Jews have lived in the United States since colonial times celebrating Chanukah along with their other holidays. In this article you’ll see how Chanukah has inspired one of America’s greatest leaders, General George Washington. On December 19, 1777 General Washington and his Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge. Many of the General’s…
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The Meaning of the Shofar
Last week Jews around the world celebrated Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. And this week, starting Tuesday evening, they will celebrate Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. Many schools throughout the country are closed for these holidays. What universal message does these days have for all of us—Jews and non-Jews? On Rosh HaShanah the…
