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Upsherin: Why Strangers Think My Son is a Girl

Imagine the following — my wife, my son, and I were enjoying the Peter Pan ride, one of the featured rides at Walt Disney World which gets extremely lengthy lines and was considered worthy of getting the Fastpass feature. As our carriage came around to the end, the Walt Disney World cast member spotted us, smiles on our faces. He looked at my son and made eye contact and then asked, “How’d you like the ride, Princess?” I quickly chimed in, “Actually, he’s a prince.” He quickly apologized, but my speed in response came because he wasn’t the first person to mistake my son for a girl, nor would he be the last — although I thought we had done a good job of “boying” him up by putting him in blue jeans, R2D2 sneakers, and an R2D2 hooded sweatshirt.

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Taking Tragic News With A Grain of Salt

On Monday, I learned a powerful lesson about the news and social media and how what we share with our friends can be ever so slightly shifted to show just what your friends want to show you — although this is only because this is the same side of an issue that they were shown. There was a tragedy in France in the form of a shooting at a school — a Jewish school, to be specific. A teacher, his two children and another student were killed in the attack.

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An Anti-Semitic Encounter in Kew Gardens

The history of anti-Semitism stretches back many years and has existed more or less just as long as the Jewish people have existed. Our own holy scriptures are replete with stories of our people being persecuted for attempting to live their lives as Jews and it is a story that has repeated itself over and over again — year after year, decade after decade, century after century. Empire after empire, regime after regime have attempted to annihilate the entirety of the Jewish people and failed miserably in their efforts.

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Tznuis and the National Football League

Once in awhile I will see a news article about something unfortunate that has happened to someone, and I will think to myself that it wouldn’t have happened had that person been religiously Jewish, because the thing would have been prevented by adherence to a particular law related to behavior. Most recently, I read about Ines Sainz, a reporter for Spanish-language program DeporTV, who got some rather unwelcome comments from members of the New York Jets while reporting on a story. I was reminded of the Jewish obligation to dress in a manner that is considered tzniustic.

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The Madding End of Mad Mike Bloomfield

One of the greatest Blues guitarists to ever live — and die much too young — was Mike Bloomfield.  He was born into a wealthy, North Side Chicago family and grew up a “Good Jewish Boy” — until he hit the age of 14 and discovered the guitar and Southside Chicago Blues.

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Lying for Jewish Sex

An Arab man had consensual, premarital, sex with a Jewish woman.  He told her he was Jewish in order to get into her pants.  The woman believed the lie.

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When Mean Girls Cry

Meet Britney.  She’s a Mean Girl.  This Mean Girl currently lives in the Big Brother 12 house.  She’s crying because the house doesn’t like her Mean Girl ways and the other houseguests nominated her for eviction along with her best friend, Monet, The Only Other Mean Girl on the show.

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