From the Executive Editor

In My Own Words: Before and after the election

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

There is an enormous amount of anger boiling across the United States. Some people are angry at what they see as restrictions on their rights to act, think or behave as they wish. Others are angry because they don’t believe they have the same protection under the …

In My Own Words: A rabbi explores what it means to be Jewish after 10/7

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

It’s difficult to write about Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove’s book “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today” (Harvest) without offering a personal take on his view of American Jewry and its relationship to Israel and Judaism. I generally avoid reading books f…

In My Own Words: Depending on technology

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

I recently had a conversation with a neighbor who doesn’t own a computer. She’s younger than me by a few years, so age is not the reason. She doesn’t trust computers and mentioned that she’s not sure she trusts the smart meters New York State Electric and Ga…

In My Own Words: Jewish election values

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Nonprofit organizations – including synagogues – and nonprofit newspapers are not allowed to endorse political candidates. However, as a Jewish newspaper, we can talk about Jewish values that should be taken into consideration by voters. Below are three that I h…

In My Own Words: “This year it’s different”

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

“This year it’s different.” That’s the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton’s slogan for its Campaign 2025. When I first mentioned the slogan to a friend, she said it was so vague that she didn’t know what it meant. Although Federation Executive Direc…