What’s Your JQ? (Page 2)

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Year after year at the seder all is going well, then — there it is — the paragraph that unsettles me every time, that dire dramatic pronouncement of deep Jewish pessimism: “In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us.”Continue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, On one hand, the good news is that everything turns out okay for us at the end of the Megillah — a fine installment of “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat.” However, I cannot help but think that thereContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Golden Globes, Oscar nominations — any Jewish thoughts on this year’s movies? Having not yet seen “Guilt Trip,” the obvious Jewish choice for some good, healthy cinematic banter, let’s go out on a limb here and take a Jewish look at…Bond.Continue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, With December coming to an end and 2013 looming, I was wondering if it is permitted to make New Year’s resolutions even if it is not our New Year? Sometimes I think a mid-year refresher couldn’t hurt us a bit. Is itContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I have always wondered about this question in connection to Hanukkah: Why, of all the different vessels in the Temple, does the story of Hanukkah care so much about the menorah? I am sure there were other items in the TempleContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, As we begin the new cycle of the Torah reading I can’t help but feel — for lack of a better phrase — “been there, done that.” I don’t want to hear about sibling rivalry or the patriarchs or matriarchs — hasContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Maybe it was the madeleine on the cover of his book, “Proust was a Neuroscientist.” Who knows? But I was a huge fan and follower of Jonah Lehrer. Now I have a quandary. Why would someone so bright and talented risk hisContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, My dilemma is around the Holocaust and how to relate to it. On one hand, I think I know plenty about it. But on the other hand, it really is not something I want to think about. I see the notices aboutContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Did you catch the latest “America’s Got Talent?” It’s the one with the adorable kippah-wearing Jewish kid, Edan Pinochot, singing One Republic’s “Good Life.” Is it a moment of pride for the Jewish community when Edan is chosen by the judges, HowardContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I am so sad for Shavuot. It’s almost over before it gets started! The upcoming festival is so low key, with no big seder, no temporary abode on the deck or backyard. Can’t we come up with something a bit, dareContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I don’t know what to think after seeing the Oscar-nominated Israeli movie, “Footnote.” On one hand, it was exhilarating to see the inside world of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University and to have a glimpse of the intricate inner workings of Talmud study. OnContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, So much attention is lavished by all of us on the night of the seder; the meticulous preparations, the elaborate menu and of course the Seder proceedings themselves. Of course, what with the wide variety of Haggadahs that one can purchaseContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Have you heard about the latest literary challenge? Six word memoirs! I read about them in the latest O magazine. Here is what it’s all about: Larry Smith threw out a challenge on his online publication, SMITH Magazine. It seems heContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, It is that time of year when “Best of the Year” lists meet the awards season. It can be a full-time job keeping up! First our attention goes to the Golden Globe, then the People’s Choice, then, finally the Oscars. IContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I just read Nathan Englander’s short story in the latest New Yorker and I found something deeply disturbing about it. On one hand, I love to read and see Jewish things out there in the world. On the other hand, it’s almostContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Hanukkah is our family’s favorite holiday. We host a different set of guests each night and we like to inject each year with its own special flavor. As the holiday approaches we identify a theme for the year and I try toContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, There has been quite a bit of public conversation about the troubling issue of bullying. I watched CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s week-long Town Hall meetings on the issue and the new study results. I was alternately moved and upset, and I’m now deeplyContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik , JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Confession: I have a love-hate relationship with the High Holidays. On one hand, I very much look forward to the season of holiday meals, get-togethers and keeping all the family traditions. On the other hand I find all the talk ofContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, A friend of mine is getting married this fall and came to me with some questions about the wedding ceremony. She and her fiancé are pretty secular, but she is still oriented toward tradition. She needs some help understanding one of theContinue Reading