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…
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…
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…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
I’ve written before about how I like to pause during the fall holiday season and appreciate the many things in my life for which I am grateful. Since parts of 2024 were emotionally difficult for a number of reasons, this feels even more important this year.
Some …
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
I’ve been watching videos of “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update” hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost on my Facebook feed. The videos began to pop up after I read about Che and Jost exchanging jokes while a real-life rabbi sat at their desk, shaking her head at t…
