Passover begins on Monday, April 22 and continues until sundown on April 30. According to a Pew Foundation study, 70 percent of American Jews participate in a Seder, making it the most popular holiday Jews observe. It is a social holiday that brings families, friends and strangers to the table to partake in a night of storytelling and food. Two of the mitzvoth are mentioned in the Torah: telling the story of the emancipation and eating matzah. Three others were introduced by the sages, and call for drinking four cups of wine, reclining and eating bitter herbs. These mitzvoth represent ways for ..read more

To understand what happened in the Middle East overnight Saturday, one has to go back four years to the killing by the United States of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Iran needed to retaliate symbolically to save face, and asked to do so. The United States allowed Tehran to attack its Ayn al-Asad airbase in Iraq. Fifteen missiles were fired at the base, causing minor damage and shedding not one drop of blood, a feat for which Iran may deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. Lt. Col. Staci Coleman, the commander of the 443rd Air Expeditionary Squadron, and members of her squadron test ..read more

Many Americans are shocked at the extreme level of anti-Jewish hate that has been revealed to exist at Harvard University and other elite schools since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel. Hardly a week has gone by without a new story about the pro-Hamas extremism and/or systemic ambivalence to antisemitism at Harvard. Last week the Harvard Crimson reported that the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee passed a petition initiating a referendum that asks students whether Harvard should divest from institutions that support “Israel’s occupation of Palestine” and the w ..read more

(JTA) — Five days after fending off a sweeping direct attack by Iran, Israel has struck back by bombing Iranian territory, according to several reports that cite an unnamed U.S. government source. The exact site of the strike early Friday morning Iranian time is unknown but explosions were reported in the area of Isfahan, a city with a major air force base. Fox News and CNN, also citing unnamed U.S. sources, reported that the strikes were “limited” in scope and did not target Iran’s nuclear facilities. The reports at first seemed to indicate a major escalation in armed conflict between th ..read more

Here, at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore pickleball courts in Marblehead, there is laughter, conversation, and friendship. Sweat and strategy. Light, hope, and charity. Fun. Elsewhere, well, there’s the other stuff. “It’s a great diversion from the world,” said Lisa Bornstein, 59, of Marblehead. “Once you’re on the court, you can’t think about the misery and sadness, your mind doesn’t go that way. You’re just playing.” Pickleball is said to be the fastest growing sport in America, played by millions, fueled by its low cost, short learning curve, and an aging ..read more

Only one year ago, Ori Ayalon was a newcomer to running. The Israeli-born Bostonian played sports and rowed throughout her years at Brookline High School. Running was never her thing. But in one of life’s unpredictable twists and turns, Ayalon became a runner and last fall, signed up for the 2024 Boston Marathon. One week before the 128th race on April 15, the 23-year-old Newton resident was excited for her first-ever run in the prestigious, challenging 26.2-mile marathon. “It was close to my heart,” she told the Journal in a phone conversation. Growing up in Brookline, her family joined the a ..read more

Age: 24 Hometown: Sharon Currently living in: Providence, RI Alma mater(s): Sharon public schools K-12, and Mount Holyoke for undergrad. Job: Director of programming and community outreach at the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. Hobbies: Spending time with friends, trying new restaurants, going to see movies. I love to read, I love to collage, I love taking pictures. I write a little poetry, spend time with my family, and play with my dogs. Favorite Jewish practice: I love lighting candles on Shabbat. Pronouns: she/her Tell me about your Jewish background. I was raised in Sharon, w ..read more

I recently asked my father what he would like to do for his 90th birthday. He said he just wants to be surrounded by family. His happiness is being with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. That got me thinking of our family Seder. My husband and I are hosting, and we invited 27 people, but only 15 are able to join us. This year will be a smaller gathering, which in many ways is nice. And while I still obsess about the food and will likely have enough to feed the original guest list, I can spend time thinking about how people will experience the evening. Some things we have li ..read more

The Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, issued this week, recorded a total of 623 antisemitic incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism in the New England Region (covering Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) in 2023, a 205 percent increase from 2022 and the highest number of antisemitic incidents ever recorded in the region. The regional increase in antisemitic incidents reported to ADL outpaced the 140 percent increase reported across the country. Nationally, ADL recorded 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, the highest total since ..read more

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the umbrella labor union for public school educators, has come under fire in recent weeks after a webinar titled “The Struggle Against Anti-Palestinian Racism” triggered an already-growing movement of Jewish teachers in the state to warn of antisemitism. The MTA’s Anti-Racism Task Force has scheduled webinars intended to “deepen our understanding of racial injustice and liberation from an intersectional lens, and inspire action,” according to its website. On March 21, it hosted the webinar that Jewish teachers and others since condemned as antisemitic ..read more