In the wake of this week’s primary results across the country, but especially in New York City, it’s time to revisit a bit of a Political Science lesson, one I learned many years ago. If you want to understand what happened in Tuesday’s primaries, and what has been evolving for years, there’s a book you should read.

I had an incredible teacher in high school named Joel Gottlieb, who taught me how to apply critical thinking to everything, especially to history and geopolitics. One of the key ...

Like many of us, I’m feeling an acute sense of unease at the way in which the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran was achieved, the terms included, and those not included. I’ve read and listened to some of the analysts I respect most over the last several days, and my unease seems to be shared far beyond the confines of our community. Nonetheless, it is important to see the big picture, the tactical and strategic imperatives, the operational challenges, as well as the likely o...

I’ve been reading about Col. Anne McClain, one of the astronauts picked for the Artemis project, aiming for a return to the moon over the next few years. Like several family members of mine, she’s a decorated combat veteran. Like only a few of my acquaintances, she has thousands of hours in the cockpit, mostly flying helicopters before becoming an astronaut. Like my eldest son, she’s trained in aerospace engineering. Like me, she’s experienced divorce. Like some, she got unwanted and unwarran...

Its been my pleasure and honor to work with Rabbi Kurland, not only here at Federation, but as co-clergy at Congregation Shir Shalom. I met Rabbi Kurland in 2004 when I first interviewed with the then Nanuet Hebrew Center. When I came to the congregation in 2005, I found a colleague who was 100% supportive of my role. As the dean of my cantorial school said when he learned who my rabbi was, “you’ve got a honey”. He was right; in Rabbi Kurland I have found a great colleague and a true friend.

One of his missions in life is to make people smile.

Not a quick, polite smile. An ear to ear grin, perhaps accompanied by an eyeroll, but always aimed to lighten the heart and the burdens it carries, both seen and unseen.

I am grateful for the almost five years I’ve known him.

Who am I talking about? The Rabbi with the twinkle in his eye and oldest, corniest, and funniest stories in Rockland. Of course, I could only be writing about one person. Rabbi Paul Kurland has spent the last 29 yea...

Growing up in a Conservative Jewish environment offered many opportunities to find expressions of Judaism beyond simply attending services. I am a second generation American and forever generation Jew. The sense of spirituality and belonging was reinforced through my younger years of youth group and later on adult roles in volunteering at my synagogue or community at large. These experiences allowed me to find an outlet for extending the meaning of believing, observing traditions, giving back...