Rob Scheinberg
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Rob Scheinberg

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Sep 14, 2018, 8:29 AM
Anti-Ashamnu (To be sung to the tune of ‘Ashamnu’)
ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Not my fault It wasn’t me It wasn’t so bad He deserved it ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Everyone was doing it It didn’t hurt anybody Get over it already You’re too sensitive ai ai ai ai ai...
Sep 3, 2018, 11:49 PM
Whole-Broken-Shattered-Whole: Introducing the Shofar
One long blast. Three short blasts. Nine very short blasts.  And again, one long blast. Why do we blow the Shofar in this peculiar pattern? There are pages and pages of traditional Jewish writings about ‘why do we blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah.’ It’s an...
Aug 30, 2018, 12:45 AM
The regret and gratitude of Elul / Lulei
This Hebrew year that is now coming to an end: it could have been different. We can probably imagine various ways, large and small, that this year could have unfolded differently than it did. While I do have some specifics...
Jul 19, 2018, 11:28 PM
Political Civility: Rethinking Bar Kamtza
After Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant earlier this month, I was asked: Is there any classical Jewish parallel to such an incident? I responded that a close parallel may be a story...
May 18, 2018, 10:15 AM
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What do you hear? Laurel and Yanny on Israel and Gaza
IDF soldiers on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip as thousands of Palestinians demonstrate near the border fence, April 6, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
What an ambiguous computerized voice can teach about getting to peace in the Middle East
Apr 21, 2018, 12:14 AM
“Al Kol Eleh” – “For all these things”: Thoughts on Israel’s 70th birthday
In honor of Israel's 70th Yom Ha-Atzma'ut this week, the organization Koolulam released this video of 12,000 Israelis singing together. In a stadium in Tel Aviv, they learned and performed the vocal parts for the classic song "Al Kol...
Dec 1, 2017, 7:58 PM
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Jacob and Esau, Itamar and the Rabbit, and mutual fear
Illustrative: Cover photo from David Grossman's children's book, Itamar Meets a Rabbit (in Hebrew: Itamar pogesh arnav).
The simplicity of a children's book reminds us that fearing each other makes the world more dangerous
Aug 16, 2017, 7:20 AM
Monuments to tyrants — in Ukraine, and in the United States
Several years ago on a visit to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine and the (approximate) home of my great-grandparents, I was surprised to see a large majestic statue of the Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielnicki -- a 17th-century political and...
Jun 30, 2017, 1:33 PM
Walking towards each other: Lessons from a biblical judge (Haftarah Hukkat)
The Haftarah for the Torah portion of Hukkat (read in Jewish communities around the world this year on July 1) revolves around the story of one particular judge, named Yiftach (often rendered in English as “Jephthah,” but “Yiftach” is...
Mar 7, 2017, 2:47 AM
Haman on the couch
The Purim story is full of fascinating and unusual characters who each have their resonances in our contemporary world. King Achashverosh reminds us of the various world leaders or other powerful people who are ineffectual and yet somehow ascend...
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About Me
Rabbi Robert Scheinberg is the rabbi of the United Synagogue of Hoboken, a teacher and musician, and an adjunct faculty member at the Jewish Theological Seminary.