Recently added articles from American Jewish Life Magazine:

30 second sermon: Passover.(Brief article)

Mar 01, 2007; Cohen, Rabbi Ezra A. ... As the Passover seder night quickly approaches, we hurriedly begin to focus on its myriad laws and details. Many thoughts flash through our minds: How can we make this year's seder more meaningful, which child would best be suited to read the passage about the simple son, what ...

Answer maven: if only we could pass over our in-laws, it would make the holiday season so much easier to handle, but alas, we cannot. Thankfully our own expert and provider of solutions is on the case.

Mar 01, 2007; Kirschner, Chanie Cohen ... Q: The combination of wine, matzah, and the constant whine of my mother-in-law at the seder really does a number on my digestive system. Any tips on how to ease the pain this Passover? A: I've always felt that the particular combination of wine and matzah at the seder was ...

Dear God, you're fired.

Mar 01, 2007; Pilcher, Bradford R. ... Author's Note: In the face of so much religious fundamentalism, especially in a post-9/11 society, there has arisen a slew of atheist voices from the wilderness. I knew there was a valuable story in trying to understand why they don't believe as they do, but the more I tried to write this ...

The devil's advocate? Norman Mailer channels Satan and Hitler's childhood in his controversial new novel. We sit down with the legendary writer to ask what the hell he was thinking.(Interview)

Mar 01, 2007; Solomont, E.B. ... About halfway through a novel depicting Adolf Hitler's childhood by Norman Mailer, the narrator cautions readers against drawing hasty conclusions about the future Fuhrer based on his youthful episodes. In a scene during which young Adolf's father fumigates his bee farm, the narrator, an ...

Diet, interrupted: our courageous food columnist spends a week on the KosherZone Diet in an attempt to shed a few pounds. Was she successful? Well, sort of.

Mar 01, 2007; Barry, Tina ... "Hide that," my husband says to my daughter. I walk into the room and take a photo out of her hand. It's me in a bathing suit. Fat ass. Fat thighs. Mine, all mine. "How did I get like this?" I wail. Here's how. I eat like an army of starving men. Cocktails? Wine? Why not? I'm at ...

Heretic of the month: Jacob Frank.(Jacob Joseph Frank,)(Interview)

Mar 01, 2007; Michaelson, Jay ... He rejected the Torah (once threatening to defecate on it if angry rabbis didn't leave it alone). He converted to both Islam and Catholicism. He slept with his followers--and maybe even his daughter. He preached a nihilistic doctrine that saw this world as intrinsically corrupt, and ...

Riding the wild waves of the Jewish dating game: Jewish dating above the age of thirty in the 21st century, can be a complicated affair. It's one part high-tech and several parts high school social etiquette, as our intrepid essayist found out during her Caribbean search for romance.

Mar 01, 2007; Pomerance, Rachel ... Me: Hi there Him: Hi. so, why are you IM'ing me from Atlanta? Me: Curious. Thought I'd see what the boys in Seattle are like ... ;) (Code: I'm running out of options at home.) Globalization has its perks. And using JDate to check inventory in ...

Not-isyahu: Lubavitch rockers Chunah Silverman and Menachem Shapiro are bringing biblical rhymes to the mainstream. Say hello to the other white Jewish Hasidic reggae rappers.

Mar 01, 2007; Roth, Matthue ... Before I met Chunah Silverman of Ta-Shma, I'd heard of him. Not the same way people are hearing him now, at concerts or on the radio, but as a Crown Heights urban legend. The population of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is largely divided between Jamaican immigrants and members of the ...

The Prince and I: to many, the African Hebrew Israelites are just an offbeat fringe cult with odd customs. No meat! No caffeine! No medicine! No Chanukah! Multiple Wives! But spend the day with them and you'll find out a whole lot more.

Mar 01, 2007; Cohen, Benyamin ... At this precise moment in time, I find myself sitting wedged between two princes of the African Hebrew Israelite community in the backseat of a brand new white Cadillac Deville winding our way through Southwest Atlanta. Smoke from the exhaust billows out the back on this chilly November ...

The rebirth of a man named Goldberg: after leaving his football career behind him, Bill Goldberg went on to become the world's most famous wrestler--making millions by prancing around in nothing but boots and underwear. Now the 40 year old is reinventing himself again, this time as a reality television host, a family man, and a proud Jew.(Interview)

Mar 01, 2007; Miller, Gerri ... As the familiar figure walks toward you, extending a massive hand in greeting, it's impossible not to feel very small, even if you are 6'1". Standing several inches taller and packing 275 pounds of muscle, Bill Goldberg is a commanding presence, and with his shaved head and goatee he's one ...

This Glass is half full: Ira Glass, the host of public radio's ridiculously popular This American Life, is taking his show to a whole new arena--television. Will his 1.7 million weekly listerers follow? Stay tuned.(Interview)

Mar 01, 2007; Miller, Gerri ... He may lack the authoritative, enunciated intonations of an old schoolbroadcaster, but Ira Glass has one of the most familiar voices in radio. As the host and creator of the Peabody Award-winning public radio program This American Life, now carried on 500 stations nationwide, he has ...

Tribal sounds: thanks to their lineage, Jewish film composers are hitting all the right notes.

Mar 01, 2007; Martin, Molly Beth ... If you are a movie lover, like me (and I assume that AJL readers are up to date on their pop-culture), you've been listening to some of the most successful Jewish musicians in American history. You just didn't know it. Composers like James Horner, Howard Shore, Phillip Glass, ...

Uncle Aaron: Passover seders are times for families to celebrate together--even if said family is really, really weird.

Mar 01, 2007; Kesselman, Jonathan ... Author's Note: The names in this essay have been changed to protect the "innocent." And by "innocent," I mean my family. There aren't many words I can use to describe a Kesselman Passover. Well, there are a few words; words like: excruciating, interminable, and narcotized seem ...