From the Executive Editor

In My Own Words: Hate crimes

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Most Jewish newspapers have been focusing on the current wave of antisemitic attacks on Jews. That coverage is extremely important since if we don’t stand up for ourselves, who else is going to come to our aid? But we will never be truly safe in this country until…

In My Own Words: The world in which we live

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

My original plan was to write a column called “Entering the Third Year” about the continuing pandemic. Yes, I know numbers are down, but we’re not finished with this nightmare yet – a nightmare that has killed more than 947,000 Americans as of this writing. …

In My Own Words: Majority, minority and fear

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

“Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today defended his and [Deborah Lipstadt’s].... denunciations of Republican Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) previous comments in support of the January 6 insurrectionists. The Wisconsin Republican demanded an apology for being called…

In My Own Words: Feeling discomfort

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

I actually had to double check because I started to think, “Wait, that can’t be real. She must have accidently sent me a link to a comic/fake news site.” But, unfortunately, I was wrong and, since it was on a topic I’ve been thinking of writing about for the…

In My Own Words: Something silly

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

I’m a big fan of the Muppets. I don’t remember when I first saw “Sesame Street,” but I believe it must have been when I was in junior high or high school. My favorite Muppet at that time was Oscar the Grouch. I could relate to his grouchiness, a trait that r…