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Lorenz Krauz 2025 TV Confession of Parents Murder in 2017

As it turns out, the bizarre story of Lorenz Kraus killing his elderly parents Franz and Theresia Kraus in 2017 and burying them in their own backyard, on Crestwood court near Whitehall Road just a few blocks from the Albany … Read the rest

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NYSWI Book Festival on Shabbos Shuvah

This 2025, the annual NYSWI (New York State Writers Institute)’s Book Festival at UAlbany falls on Shabbos Shuvah, the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The obvious tie-in is “being inscribed in the Book of Life” and as President Read the rest

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What’s Your Reason and Kippah Alignment

At the pre-Rosh-Hashanah Challah Babka Bake a student came over to me and asked me this question:

“Rabbi, I noticed you tend to wear your kippah tilted to a side, usually on the left side of your head, and wondered … Read the rest

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First Night Symbolic, Second Night Exotic

Rosh Hashanah, even in Israel, has two nights (and days) of holiday. Each of the nights, aside for all the delicious festive foods, has a specific type of food addition.

FIRST NIGHT: SYMBOLIC

The most famous of the symbolic foods … Read the rest

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The Reaction, The Response

We’re going with an emojis to illustrate the concept of reaction and response, and you know how we crave and cherish a response, even a gesture as simple as a like – but the truth is it cuts a lot … Read the rest

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Turning Point at Rosh Hashanah

This week leading up to Rosh Hashanah 5786/2025 there’s been lots of mention of “Turning Point” in the news following the shooting of Charlie Kirk which shook (and in some ways also divided) the nation. Locally, I found many of … Read the rest

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Frankie Focus just before High Holidays 2025

While not an endorsement of Governor Hochul these days, perhaps there’s something to learn from the NYS rollout of the lime-green shaggy-haired “Frankie-Focus” mascot (see also Chris Churchill’s Sep 9th “Times-Union” piece on this) of the new cell-phone … Read the rest

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The Problem (and Blessing) of Recognition Alone

A big news item going into Rosh Hashanah of 5786/2025 is the announcement by several major European states (including France, England, even Canada) to go ahead with a recognition-only announcement.

The interesting thing (for purposes of this post) is that … Read the rest

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A Tuesday Rosh Hashanah

This 2025 calendar setup of Tuesday-Wednesday midweek Jewish holidays is a tough one for working folks, as well as for observant college students who will be missing a ton of work.

But as we learned in our “Three Day YomTov”Read the rest

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Revisiting the definition of Eras

Thinking that the past few years have seen a redefinition of the term “ERA” from a lengthy period of time for large swaths of people, to now be seen as a temporary phase or passing interest or style for an … Read the rest

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