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I confess that I am a liberal Zionist. I am proudly pro-Israel. Like almost all Israeli and American Jews, I am also pro-peace. Though I know that many of my fellow Jews disagree with me, I believe that a two-state solution to the … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 8/28/14

Yinglish: Jewish language of the New World

Sholem Aleichem (Sholem Rabinovitch, 1859-1916), is best known as the man behind “Fiddler on the Roof,” the 1964 Broadway musical that – even after 50 years – keeps on keepin’ on. Because of the worldwide success of “Fiddler,” … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 8/19/14

What happens to a dream deferred?

This has been a sobering summer for all of us who care deeply about Israel and have been hoping for some progress toward Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation within the framework of a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict. The kidnapping and … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 8/19/14

The magic of six words

I came to the “My Six-Word Memoir” exhibit at gallery (401) at the Dwares JCC about a week before it was scheduled to close on April 11. Within minutes, I realized that I could not absorb what was before me in a single visit; so I arranged to … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 5/9/14

The miracle and the mystery of love

Almost every Jew knows that we read the Megillah, the scroll of Esther, every year on Purim. However, while we customarily refer to Megillat Esther as THE Megillah, we read four additional megillot (scrolls) during our liturgical year: Ruth on … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 4/24/14

Sholem Aleichem – nostalgia with a bite

Ever since it opened on Broadway in the fall of 1964, starring Zero Mostel as Tevya, “Fiddler on the Roof” has been part of Jewish consciousness here in America, throughout the diaspora and in Israel as well. Not wanting to argue with success, … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 4/10/14

What makes Israel Jewish

When American, British, Argentine or any other Diaspora Jews visit Israel, they know that they are in a Jewish place since most of the people living there happen to be Jewish. The language most frequently spoken, read and written is Hebrew – a … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 3/27/14

Shifting American Jewish Identities

In his much-discussed article in the June 10, 2010, issue of The New York Review of Books, “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment,” Peter Beinart, author of “The Crisis of Zionism” (2012), wrote: “For several decades the Jewish … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 3/13/14

Time to reengage?

When my father and I would drive “down the shore” on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, heading for a boat that would take us to where the bluefish were running, occasionally we would go far enough south to pass the exit for Double Trouble … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 2/27/14

Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Beethoven and God

I found my way via a footnote in the Jan. 9, 2014, issue of “The New York Review of Books” to an essay by jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, “Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Beethoven and God.” With a title like that, how could I not read it? The essay, … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 2/13/14