I've Always Wondered
What Short-Answer Questions Do We Have This Week? Originally Published January 27-28, 2023.

Your correspondent refers to it as a “Torah schmatte,” but what do we call that fancy cover we put over the sefer Torah in the middle of reading it while we are doing other things?  It is called a bein gavra.  As those who sell them say, “the flat Torah cover is an ornate covering […]

Read more
I've Always Wondered
What Is the Connection Between Studying and Death? Published October 22-23, 2021.

Read more
I've Always Wondered
Why Do We Say “le’ella le’ella” in Kaddish on the High Holidays? Originally Published October 9-10, 2020.

Read more
I've Always Wondered
Who Was Leonard Bernstein? Originally published December 28-29, 2018.

The 100th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein was August 25, 2018.  We think him worthy of mention. Mr. Bernstein was a composer, conductor, pianist, writer, teacher, ambassador, and humanitarian - all with a genuine passion, boundless talent, and skills rare throughout history.  He was born in Lawrence, Mass., and we lost him on […]

Read more