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July 3, 2008

Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget (TOUCHING!)

Jeff Jacoby: Israel still paying for its defeat

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part IV by Rabbi David Aaron

July 2, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Appeasers Make Poor Patriots

The Kosher Gourmet By Kathleen Purvis: Slaw, y'all: For BBQs or Sabbath dinner, these southern recipes are something else!

JWisdom:: Rabbi Mordechai Becher: Jewish Rx for A Simpler Life

July 1, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. I think it's important to leave a legacy to my children. How much should I save towards this end?

Paul Greenberg:A President who is history deficient?

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism

June 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Remembering the architect of Torah Judaism for the modern world

Abe Novick: Hulk: Still a Jew?

JWisdom: : Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 2: The Abandoned Child

June 26, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Quantum leap to evil

Caroline B. Glick: Victimized families must not be allowed to dictate policy

June 25, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Today in Biblical History: King Jeroboam of Israel prevents pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Jonathan Tobin: Real Friends and Real Enemies

JWisdom: Raping of reason By Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 25, 2008

Steven Emerson: Kristof: Never Mind the Terrorists

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: Mediterranean Flyover: Telegraphing an Israeli Punch?

JWisdom: Rabbi David Aaron: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part III

June 24, 2008

Caroline B. Glick: What were they thinking!?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Guilty knowledge

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Warping Innocence

June 23, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Diploma dilemma

Jeff Jacoby: A world without children

JWisdom: Rabbi Dovid Gross: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality --- Introduction

June 20, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Man: The Crowning Glory of Creation

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's darkest week

JWisdom: We aren't worthy? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 19, 2008

Rabbi Elazar Meisels: The saints who don't come marchin' in

Chris Christoff: Muslim woman demands an apology from Obama after camera snub

June 18, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Still Dancing Around Jerusalem

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: Chilled fruit and vegetable soups

JWisdom: Souls Need A Check Up? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 17, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Baby Einstein

Caroline B. Glick: Bush's rhetoric, Bush's policies

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron

June 16, 2008

Varda Branfman: Bob Dylan, won't you please come home?

Diana West: Academic dares to question the 'religion of peace'

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Positive Backfire

June 13, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Trading manna for whine

Caroline B. Glick: Peace with friends

JWisdom: From the mouths of … by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 12, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet Paul Revere's pal, the Orthodox Jew who played a key role in laying Boston's cultural and business infrastructure

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: No need to be tempted by Wendy's mandarin chicken salad

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron

June 11, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: What would Hillel say?

Jonathan Tobin: UNRWA and NGOs: The Real U.N. 'Insult'

JWisdom: Sara Yoheved Rigler: Greatness Made Simple: How a momentary decision shifted life's course and destination

June 6, 2008

Rabbi Pinchas Stolper: Revelation: The basis of faith

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Mere hours after becoming Israel's new 'best friend' Obama backtracks on status of Jerusalem

Caroline B. Glick: UN choosing to protect rogue nuclear programs

JWisdom: Sameness in difference by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 5, 2008

David Lightman: Now Obama wants to be Israel's newest 'best friend'

Obama's remarks to AIPAC policy conference

The Kosher Gourmet By Ethel G. Hofman: Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Lokshen Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread

JWisdom: Why a Jewish Jerusalem makes so many nervous by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 4, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: A different sort of 'religious broadcaster'

Jonathan Tobin: Misgivings on the Road to Damascus

JWisdom: 44 Years Without An Argument? by Sara Yoheved Rigler

June 3, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama vs. McCain on the Middle East

Everything's Relative: There is a crisis growing in Orthodox synagogues worldwide, reveals Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel

JWisdom: White Facades; Black Secrets by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: Lie to outsmart discriminator?

He writes the songs that make our souls sing:Gavriel Aryeh Sanders interviews Jewish music legend Ben Zion Shenker; includes stirring, uplifting song

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Of laws and lives

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Feb. 26, 2007 / 28 Adar, 5767

(Dis)order in the court

By Mitch Albom


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | I don't really care where Anna Nicole Smith is buried or who gets her money, and I don't think it matters which deadbeat gold digger is the father of her baby, since no matter what, that poor kid will need years of therapy.


But I do want to say something about the absurd trial that was just televised almost nonstop by our cable TV news channels (Official Motto: "Always on the lookout for the next O.J."). Because if any impressionable kids were watching, they should know this.


The judge? Larry Seidlin?


Not what our forefathers had in mind.


The whiny, wisecracking Seidlin may think he was auditioning for his own TV show — and who isn't? — but he ignored something fundamental to the justice process:


It doesn't matter that you're presiding over a room full of celebrity-obsessed lunatics.


You can't become one of them.


Seidlin did. He was a nightclub act. A carnival sideshow. People tuned in to see what weird, outlandish comments he would make. This, we remind you, is the JUDGE!


Here is a guy who began the proceedings by telling the court that Anna Nicole's body "belongs to me now" and "that baby is in a cold, cold storage room." In the days that followed, he gave rambling details of his morning exercise routine, his blood pressure, his discomfort with funeral specifics (this is a probate judge, by the way). He compared Anna Nicole to a Shakespearean character and the trial to a Muhammad Ali fight, suggested the disputing parties should all "join hands" in a Kumbaya moment, paid homage to the troops in Iraq, addressed lawyers by their home states ("Sit down, Texas"), told a blonde attorney she was beautiful, let his cell phone ring, and actually said, when a man collapsed in the courtroom apparently from diabetic shock, "Here's my credit card. Get him some orange juice."


That's just a sample. I don't care that Seidlin was once a New York City cab driver. I care that he still acts like one.


Now, you may say I'm being priggish. Let the guy have his fun. Let the guy be entertaining. His wife last week told ABC News that people are always saying how Seidlin should have his own TV program. And, considering the lineup of spotlight-seeking vultures in this sick and bizarre opera, why, you ask, should Seidlin be different than the rest?


I'll tell you why.


He's the only one with the word "judge" in front of his name.


That used to mean something.


Not every profession is supposed to offer a TV version. Once upon a time, psychiatrists practiced in offices, not on a glitzy set. Financial advisors worked behind desks, not in front of cable news cameras. Courtrooms were for litigators and plaintiffs, not directors and producers.


And judges were austere.


Not auditioning.


I'm one of those strange people who believe a judge who decides who goes to jail, who gets custody of children, who receives an inheritance or who gets a dead body should come across, at least some of the time, as being from planet Earth.


Seidlin — thanks to all the attention he drew — sent a different message. He told millions of viewers that being entertaining is the most important thing. Oh, and crying as you announce your verdict is a nice touch.


Maybe someday, someone will explain why so much weird government behavior seems to happen in Florida. Katherine Harris. The Elian Gonzalez trial. Meanwhile, Seidlin's defenders insist he is just being his "down-to-earth" self.


Sorry. But when the whole world is watching, you should put some effort into standing taller. After all, "down to earth" isn't far from "in the mud." And a judge should be better than that.


Even if his case isn't.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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