Rabbi Daniel Lehmann, president of Hebrew College, has issued a lengthy response to Rabbi Daniel Gordis’s Commentary column that accused young rabbis of turning on Israel. Here’s a taste:

Most disappointing are Gordis’ recommendations for responding to the challenges that beset liberal rabbinical schools with regard to Israel education. While he admits that it will not be easy, he offers little upon which we can build a compelling educational plan. For Gordis, the selection of students, the curriculum and assigned readings and the year of study in Israel hold out the most hope for confronting the challenges that so concern him. The level of vagueness and generality in his list of suggestions is surprising, especially for a founding Dean of a North American rabbinical school. More baffling is his insistence that “raising the flag of particularity and distinctive loyalties high and unabashedly” holds out the most hope for developing rabbis who will be lovers of Zion. The adults that we teach in our Rabbinical School are not so shallow and anti-intellectual that they would be swayed by flag waving. Commitment to Jewish particularity will not be engendered by flowery rhetoric or demagogic charisma. The pledge of allegiance has long been discarded as the method to generate deep loyalty. Thin processes of socialization will not work to nurture the souls and stimulate the minds of adults who seek thick, authentic experiences of Judaism.

Read the entire response at JewishBoston.com.

boston:

Beneath Jerusalem, a city of the past

- Underneath the crowded alleys and holy sites of old Jerusalem, hundreds of people are snaking at any given moment through tunnels, vaulted medieval chambers, and Roman sewers in a rapidly expanding subterranean city invisible from the streets above.

boston:

What I did on my spring break

- Who returns from the Holy Land talking about Justin Bieber? And yet, who has the willpower not to burst with the news that she not only stayed in the same hotel as the teen pop star, but was mobbed by his fans?

Bread People: horrifying, hilarious… or both?

breadpeople:

Matzohckerberg (suggested by Guy T)

boston:

There’s no VPL when Spanx is in the house, just ask the CEO

- The girdle queen gave the room a once over and was pleased. The minglers at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies event looked appropriately smooth. “No visible panty lines,”said Laurie Ann Goldman, chief executive of Spanx.

Choice quote:

The evening’s one bumpy moment came during the Q&A, when Sarah Perry, of Newton, floated the idea that Spanx thrived by preying on women’s body issues. “I understand your question,’’ Goldman said. But the products are “really about feeling comfortable in your own skin.’’

Even if it needs to be sucked into submission.

Meet Josh Ruboy from The Butcherie. A member of the family who owns this Brookline institution, Josh has worked at the Harvard Street shop for twenty years. He’s a chef, overseeing the full-service catering arm of the business, with a hand in the prepared foods, the deli, and even the meat butchering in the back room. We chatted with Josh about Passover, the busiest time of year for The Butcherie. Check out the rest of the interview at JewishBoston.com.

With a week of matzah coming up soon, many of us are taking this week to load up on bread, pasta, and other Passover no-nos. JewishBoston.com has teamed up with LevelUp, a new local-deal site that gives 25% of its revenues to non-profit partners like us, to help you “LevenUp” before Passover. LevelUp works like a video game, where buying a deal unlocks new opportunities. So get started with discounts to Kupel’s Bakery and A Perfect Taste Cafe, and if you make it to Level Three, you can purchase two-for-one enrollment in Wanderings & Wonderings! And while you’re saving yourself some cash, you’ll also be helping to support JewishBoston.com’s programs like Seder in a Box! So LevenUp with LevelUp right now!

Today, we sent roughly 800 seder plates, matza covers, Haggadot, Leader’s Guides, recipe books and more over to Triangle, Inc. to be packed and shipped to our Seder in a Box recipients.

Triangle Inc. empowers adults with disabilities to enjoy rich, fulfilling lives through a variety of programs, including job training and planning. We are thrilled to be able to partner with them on this project.

boston:

JewishBoston.com is offering its first do-it-yourself Seder kit. Free to Boston-area residents, ages 18 to 40, who sign up by April 8, ‘Seder in a Box’ includes: a Seder plate, a basic Haggadah, a leader’s guide, recipes, a shopping list, instructions for setting the table, and a matzo cover. Oh, and some green plastic frogs, representing one of the 10 plagues.

Look! We’re in the paper!  

The print edition has a beautiful image of everything that comes in the Seder in a Box right on the front page! If you’re between 18 and 40 and live in the Boston area, order your Seder in a Box today! 

frequentlyfemme:

itsdlevy:

At work, my life has already been focused on Passover for the last two weeks. I’m really proud of the free, downloadable Haggadah I wrote — please download a copy and tell your friends to do so too! I do sort of regret not finding a way to work this Will Finn song into it… after all, it describes the Passover experience of a Jewish family from the Boston area! (This recording is from the revue of Finn’s work entitled Make Me A Song.)

I do love this song, and it kills me how perfectly it captures the joy and pain, silliness and sadness that holidays with families can evoke.

Check out this fabulous Haggadah if you’re looking for Pesach resources/want to lead a seder and don’t know how.