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Learn About and Listen To Sephardic Songs

This wonderful website showcases over 100 years of recorded Sephardic music, from the 78 rpm era to the present. It explores in detail the earliest Sephardic recordings, the artists that made them, and their repertory and performance practices. These early recordings tell a rich story of Sephardic musical life in the first half of the 20th century. The website also covers the second half-century of recorded Sephardic music, touching on the amazing outpouring of Sephardic recordings and the diverse performing styles used in each.

Two Stories of Bravery

In September 1940, with calm deliberation, Polish Army officer Witold Pilecki walked into a Nazi German street round-up in Warsaw. He had volunteered for a potentially suicidal secret undercover mission for the Polish Underground—to get himself arrested by the Germans and sent to Auschwitz as a prisoner.

News from Congregation Magen David of Manhattan

As the community continues to expand, more and more people are benefiting from having a Sephardic synagogue in downtown Manhattan. Joseph Kassin, a 21 year old senior studying at NYU lives just one block away from the synagogue. He said, “It’s been extremely convenient for me to have a community synagogue footsteps from my apartment and so close to all my classes. The daily minyanim and classes have been so beneficial. The holidays that I’ve spent in the synagogue, have all been exciting and memorable.

Carpool Etiquette

Our children are our most precious possessions. With a new school year upon us, one of the things we have to think about is carpooling, because we are entrusting our children to other mothers and fathers. Carpooling should be taken seriously. Here are some tips that might save problems in the future.

Fall Beauty Trends 2013

There are so many new beauty trends for fall 2013, I don’t know where to start. The artists have gone wild with color—bright, bold, metallic, noticeable color. These rainbow bright colors for your lips and eyes mark a departure from past season’s pastels. If you don’t think you’ll feel comfortable in a bright, bold metallic color, you can still be yourself while adding a little boost from the right hint of new hue.

The Month of Festivals

Rosh Hashanah

It is customary to sound the shofar and blow trumpets at the coronation of a king. Similarly, on Rosh Hashanah, we crown G-d as king over the universe and over each of us in particular. The shofar is also sounded to awaken people to repent and return to G-d. The shofar represents a simple outcry of a person who recognized his spiritual “poverty” and whose feelings cannot be contained in words.

Reduce Your Risk of Stroke – Act FAST

Every year, over 133,000 Americans die due to stroke. Those that don’t die are often left with serious disabilities. Experts from the Jaffe Stroke Center at Maimonides Medical Center stress the importance of prevention and want everyone to know the early warning signs.

How to Choose the Perfect School for Your Child

Every parent knows the emotion attached to the question, “Where should I send my child to school?” There are so many concerns—the academics, pressures of a dual curriculum, the social aspect, school values, the quality and strength of friendships, and relationships between teachers and students. This decision is, most assuredly, not for the faint of heart.

Children’s Books for the High Holidays

A lovely way to celebrate and share the importance of the High Holidays with your little ones is to explore wonderful holiday stories with bright beautiful pictures depicting all that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are about. There are many children’s books about the holidays and we’ve found some of the best.

The Children of Auschwitz

One million, five hundred thousand Jewish children were murdered in the Shoah. Man will never be able to face this fact with full comprehension. “Every child was at the dawn of life. Each one was an entire world. They were mere children when they saw, in the flesh, how people, families, and humanity itself were torn to shreds. Most of the children who perished left no trace. Very few of their diaries, letters and drawings survived.”

New Fruits for Rosh Hashanah

It’s hard to believe that there are five new fruits that you can try this Rosh Hashanah. Well, some of them aren’t new, but you probably haven’t heard of them before. Try one, they’re all exotic and delicious.

My Story: A Community of Mitzvot

No good story should ever go untold; this is mine: a  few months before a trip to Florida, I was contemplating my purpose in life—wondering what goals I should be pursuing to make my mark on society. I was looking for something more than just being the monarch of help at my family’s side—which, by the way, is a 24/7 job!

Do You Forgive Me?

Another year has passed and here we are again. This is the time to start anew. It’s a time to reflect on the things we have done and the words we have said, the transgressions we have made, and the mitzvot we let slip away. It is customary at this time to call our family and friends, we treasure dear, and ask them to forgive us. And yet, I find myself questioning how many of us truly fulfill this task with our hearts.

Beyond the Gift Wrap

It’s not ideal to have a fight with your wife while on an exotic Mexican vacation, but the alignment of the stars occasionally makes some spats inevitable. I can’t tell you now what we were arguing about. It was insignificant, yet there we were, on a pristine beach, on a pristine day, and lying on a pristine lounge chair, was my very annoyed wife.