NYWSI (New York State Writers Institute) is a distinguished organization based at UAlbany that celebrates books and writers of books. It was originally founded (and still guided!) by the noted Pulitzer-prize winning novelist William Kennedy, who in addition to his … Read the rest
A day or two before Rosh Hashanah I saw this tweet by Rabbi Chaim Bruk, the dynamic Chabad Rabbi in Montana. First I scrolled by, but then its significance hit me.
Of course, this prioritizing of Elk Chasing over Rosh … Read the rest
It is customary for some to turn the Hebrew letters of the new year into a meaningful acrostic, as a wish & aspiration, a hope for the new year. There will be a variety of acrostics made for this year … Read the rest
A long-anticipated repair finally was completed at Shabbos House in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, so there certainly has to be a lesson in that! After all, this is a time to fix & patch things up, to … Read the rest
This year (5784/2023) is one of those years when the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat. We don’t blow Shofar when it falls on Shabbat. In such calendar schedules Shofar is only blown on the second day of … Read the rest
Given all the avid, passionate and knowledgeable meteorology friends we have at UAlbany, can’t help but hear a lot of buzz in this week leading up to Rosh Hashanah 5784/2023 about forecasting the path Hurricane Lee will take. And it … Read the rest
Here’s a memory of mine from Motzai Shabbat Selichot (the midnight prayers on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah) from my Yeshiva years, and thinking back to that now, as we look forward to Midnight Selichot.
Given all the huge hype before this Rosh Hashanah 5784/2023 about Barbie, and that this Shabbos UAlbany Hillel (we alternate Friday Nights) is going with a Barbie-theme – would like to share two thoughts about the Barbie film (without having … Read the rest
It so happens that we had a lot of student birthdays this week and it falls near the 25th of Elul which is the birthday of the world/creation so we decided to go with a birthday theme for Shabbat. This … Read the rest
A day or two before Rosh Hashanah I saw this tweet by Rabbi Chaim Bruk, the dynamic Chabad Rabbi in Montana. First I scrolled by, but then its significance hit me.