Henoch Plotnik

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, chief rabbi of Istanbul’s Ashkenazic community and chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS), was part of a group that paid a most unusual condolence call a week ago Monday. The official purpose of the visit was to pay respects to the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on the passing of his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Friday Night Fire by Chavi Kesler From my seat at the Shabbos table, I noticed that the furthermost candle was very close to the framed, gold-plate rendition of Yerushalayim hanging on the wall behind it. Too close. I made a mental note not to go to bed until that candle had safely burned out. At the end of the meal, my husband and oldest daughter went off to a shalom zachar,and the other children went to sleep.

Maybe the only reason my father offhandedly mentioned to his chiropractor, Juda, that our family needed a vacation was to bring about Robert Platt’s tears. I cry rather easily, but for other folks, it may take more to get the saltwater flowing nicely. Sometimes, oddly, it takes a family vacation. Juda said he had a friend, Liam, who owned a rustic bayfront cottage in Forked River, New Jersey, and he could get Liam to let the eight of us stay there, pro bono.