Features

Spotlight: Lerman writes thriller about Israel

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Alan S. Lerman is best known as a medical specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology. However, he has long had another interest: writing. This interest began in high school. “When I didn’t make the cut for the Erasmus Hall High School basketball team (being 6…

Jewish Online Resources 2/14/25

By Reporter staff

A variety of Jewish groups are offering educational and recreational online resources. Below is a sampling of those. The Reporter will publish additional listings as they become available. 

The Qesher Book Club will hold a virtual discussion of “Shoham’s Bangle,” a…

On the Jewish food scene: Sauerkraut and coleslaw

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Am I the only one who didn’t know that cabbage is having a “moment”? According to “A Jewish Ode to Cabbage” on the Kveller website (www.kveller.com/a-jewish-ode-to-cabbage), cabbage is “trending in foodie circles.” (For those who don’t speak social m…

Fifth yahrzeit: Kid sister, roots and Izzy’s final road trip

By Bill Simons

Ida (Demsky) Sahr was a baseball fan and an active member of the Schenectady Jewish Community Center. On November 20, 2008, I gave a lecture on Jewish baseball slugger Hank Greenberg at the Schenectady “J” and remember some vibrant, older Jewish ladies. Perhaps Ida was on…

Off the Shelf: A pragmatic approach to Jewish life

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

There are different approaches to discussing rabbinic law and how those laws affect Jewish practice. An objective scholarly look at their development can be found in Elana Stein Hain’s “Circumventing the Law: Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrit…