My class recently visited “The Sassoons,” an exhibit at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan. Through family photographs, documents, artwork, and textiles, we observed the history and legacy of this prominent and wealthy Jewish family of Iraqi origin. They were known as the “Rothschilds of the East.” It is a family story told through four generations of traders, socialites, [...]
Passover is just a week away — the spring holiday of new beginnings. For Jews, a new beginning always dovetails a previous episode. We are conflicted by hope for the future, and also harsh memories. Passover is one of those memorial days that evokes both, especially due to its proximity to Yom HaShoah, a week later. [...]
“For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old yeast… but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5: 7-8) The HOLY season of Lent is upon us. Lent is what we call a penitential season. For Christians, Penance is a necessity. In fact, the [...]
It was an exceptionally stormy Monday when we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Feb. 6. On our way from the airport to the hotel in Tel Aviv, hail was falling on the windshield of our minibus. Our group of 12 pilgrims, none ever having been to the holy land, were ushered into the country [...]
REFLECTION ON THE OCCASION OF INTERFAITH INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY At THE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION CENTER, GLEN COVE, NY Good morning. My name is Donald Russo. I come to give a personal reflection. I am a good Catholic boy from a good Catholic family, or so I’ve been led to believe. But eighty years ago, what [...]
It had been raining all day last Thursday, but nothing could wash away my excitement. It was my first day back on campus after nearly a decade. The precipitation made me feel like a fish returned to the water. When I started at CTI, I was about to finish a second master’s degree at the [...]
Our rabbis teach us that when we go up to heaven, we are asked a few critical questions. The first one is the most important, and it’s not how often you attended synagogue or church. It’s a question that captures the bottom line of our humanity - “were you honest in business?” On April 3, 1968 Reverend, Dr. [...]
This month, we lost an amazing man — Rabbi Elliott Spar. Elliott was a colleague, a friend, and a mentor. One of his children, Ari Spar, is a member of our shul. For almost four decades, he was the rabbi of the Temple Beth Shalom congregation in Smithtown, the same pulpit for his entire rabbinate. He retired [...]
What is the greatest Christmas carol? It’s one we virtually never hear sung. It was sung by Mary, the pregnant teenager, as she visited her cousin. It is the Magnificat! (Luke 1:46-55). She tells us what Christmas is all about. The Son to whom she would give birth will change the world in unforeseen ways. [...]
Father Roy Tvrdik leads parishioners and friends of Our Lady of Ostrabrama RC church in lessons and discussions on the history and theology of the Catholic Church. This week Father Roy has a "Christmas sidebar" before we finish the chapters on the Council of Trent as written in "The History of the Church, A Complete [...]
