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Aug 6, 2026, 9:14 AM

At Eighty-Three: Choose Life, Not Certainty

When I turned eighty, I wrote that it was a moment of truth. Today I turn eighty-three. What is different this time? At eighty-three, the truth is harder—and less comforting. This is the first birthday I I am spending without...

Walter Estever Gonzalez

Aug 6, 2026, 5:43 AM

The Bridge That Held Us Together

Puente Litoral (later widely known as Puente de Oro), over the Lempa River in El Salvador, photographed on January 20, 1953. Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1988, a dog with rabies bit me in San Jorge. I do not remember the bite as clearly as I remember what came after it: the buses, the hospitals, the bridges, and my older brother sitting beside me...

Nina B. Mogilnik

Jul 31, 2026, 10:52 PM

Little Pieces Make a Life

This morning, a friend came by unannounced to do what she called "a welfare check" because we'd failed to connect by phone or text tag this week. We speak or see each other every week by routine, but this...

Walter Estever Gonzalez

Jul 23, 2026, 5:51 AM

The Boy Everyone Called Calavera

A Salvadoran mother offers a meal to a young soldier during the country's civil war. AI-generated illustration based on the author's recollection.

I no longer remember his real name. Everyone called him Calavera—the Spanish word for "Skull." His real name disappeared long ago, but the nickname remained. That’s how memory sometimes survives war: it forgets names but refuses to let go...

Jul 20, 2026, 8:57 AM

Chicago’s Jewish History Is Hiding in Plain Sight

Chicago Loop Synagogue Interior

Frank Gehry died recently. Obituaries celebrated the architect behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park — those sweeping stainless-steel ribbons that have become as inseparable...

Silas Anastacio

Jul 18, 2026, 12:20 PM

Rosalind Franklin: The DNA of Scientific Revolution — By Sandra Chayo

Sandra Chayo, businesswoman and lecturer, descendant of Lebanese and Bolivian Jews, uses her calm and engaging voice to tell the stories of personalities who transformed the world. In her series “Jews Who Changed the World”, she presents the life...

Jul 15, 2026, 8:06 AM

Today’s changing world: A readers guide

(courtesy)

There was a book I read as a child, which I only partially remember. I pulled it off my grandmother’s bookshelf in the late '60s, early '70s; and only remember a snowy scene and a character trying to solve...

Jul 15, 2026, 6:24 AM

Let The Doves Fly – How Hadassah is a Lifechanging Moment in My Life

Artwork courtesy of the author.

Think about the dog days of summer. Think about concerts and festivals. Finally, think about Woodstock. That iconic moment in the summer of 1969. What comes to mind? Rain, mud, traffic, crowds, and a galaxy of rock and roll...

Jul 15, 2026, 6:24 AM

Celebrating the Jewish Day of Love – Tu B’Av: Say It with Garlic

Garlic Baked Chicken Schnitzel photo courtesy of the author.

Garlic might be the official Jewish love potion, so it’s a perfect ingredient to feature in a recipe for the Jewish Day of Love, Tu B’Av (the 15th of the month of Av). Garlic Baked Chicken Schnitzel with Za’atar Garlic...

Ronnie Katz Gerber

Jul 15, 2026, 6:20 AM

Remembering Bette – My Best Friend of Nearly 70 Years

The author (left) and her friend Bette during their fun college years. Photo courtesy of the author.

Bette has been my friend, almost a sister, despite distance and long absences, for almost 70 years. She passed away unexpectedly last week. We met the summer before fourth grade when each of our families moved into our new homes...

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