Publications

Please read introspective and philosophical stories by Baruch Cohon. You may find it interesting to browse Rabbi Baruch Cohon's blog >>. Feel free to write your thoughts and comments there – it is open for your entries.

Leaders and Politicians - Of all the leaders in world history, Moses stands alone. Unique in his determination, his devotion, his thoroughly human strengths and weaknesses – and above all his inspiration, the Torah describes Moses as the only human who could converse with G-d "as a man talks with his friend." That Divine contact built a law-governed nation out of a horde of slaves. That inspired quality enabled Moses to lead his unruly people through 40 years in the desert, and almost reach the Promised Land. Along the way, he and they dealt with hostile kings and marauding tribes, with epidemic and starvation and despair – but also with revelation and with victory... >> click here to read more

By The Numbers - Built into our calendar, indeed built into our lives, are some significant numbers. Milestones and goals we reach as we grow and age: 13, the age of majority. 16, driving age. 18, voting age. 21, drinking age. And at the other end, three-score and 10. Shakespeare and Pirkey Avot give some dramatically contrasting characteristics to the ages of man, Shakespeare’s dryly sarcastic and those in Pirkey Avot straightforward and basically positive. ... >> click here to read more

The Sailor, the Cowboy and the Student - What do these three contrasting types have in common? In most cases, just about nothing. But since you asked… Let’s start with the sailor, 19 years old, a Soundman Second Class (now they call it Sonar) on a 136-foot World War 2 wooden minesweeper in the Aleutian Islands. ... >> click here to read more

Remembering Shlomo Bardin - Some 40 years ago I spent a summer working for a genius. His name was Shlomo Bardin, founder and director of the Brandeis Camp Institute. At one time he had three camps running, one in New York state, one in North Carolina and one in California. ... >> click here to read more

Circles - Take a look at your life. Chances are you surround yourself with certain people, or they surround you whether you choose them or not. Wherever you stand, you are at the center of your own reality. ... >> click here to read more

The Last Kol Nidrey - As we approach the High Holidays, something to think about is the characteristic sound of Yontov services. ... >> click here to read more

A FUNERAL FOR THE LIVING - Last week I lost a friend. His name was Si Frumkin. 40-some-odd years ago I met Si during the early days of the Soviet Jewry movement in the U.S. ... >> click here to read more

WHAT KIND OF CANDLE DO YOU BURN? - My occasional function as Technical Advisor on motion pictures brings me some interesting -- sometimes amusing -- experiences. Once I was on the set of a film where the scene of a Jewish funeral was being shot. After the outdoor graveyard scene was finished we moved onto the sound stage, to a living room set which was the "house of mourning." ... >> click here to read more

ON PROPHETS AND LOSSES - Frequently these days, I find myself driving down the street and hearing radio personalities expounding on all kinds of subjects, from family values to the day's news. Some of them are certainly bright, and all of them are glib. Is it all a form of air pollution, or can they really help us form better opinions? One and all, they speak with the voice of a prophet. Are they? ... >> click here to read more

EXTRACTION, PERSUASION, OR WHAT? - David Philipson is a boyhood memory of mine. He reigned over Cincinnati's Rockdale Avenue Temple, a grand Grecian structure with a facade that read "MY HOVSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOVSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLES." ... >> click here to read more

They Don't Like Me - A schoolboy kills himself because other kids scorned and bullied him, and a distant memory comes to mind in vivid color. Here it is: "A small boy enters the kitchen door of an old Cincinnati house moping, complaining. Why is he here in the middle of the afternoon, when he usually plays ball until the sun goes down?" ... >> click here to read more

What is the Land of Israel? - Among the debates flourishing in today’s media, from print to internet and back, Israel/Palestine ranks high. History, religion and politics intersect in the Middle East generally and on the banks of the Jordan in particular. Extremists on the Jewish side proclaim that what is called Greater Israel is the eternal inheritance of the Jews. That concept would expand the boundaries of modern Israel considerably, to the dimensions of Solomon’s kingdom, including territory now governed by Syria, more or less governed by Iraq and Egypt, and an integral part of the kingdom of Jordan. ... >> click here to read more

Same Sex Marriage - Want To Talk About It? - One state after another is dealing with the same-sex marriage question. Is it legal? Is it constitutional? Should it be protected or banned? Debate rages about marriage and family law in general and about homosexuality in particular. ... >> click here to read more

The 60 Second Hour - Patience was never my long suit. I’m not one to spend an afternoon in a store looking for just the right pair of pants for just the right price. If I don’t see something I can use in the first five minutes, goodbye. Rather than stand in line in the post office, I call UPS. -- One activity, however, I was trained to undertake patiently. Reading. Not a fast reader, I learned to savor a good writer’s style. Even if the content didn’t turn me on, I always managed to finish a book”... >> click here to read more

How Jewish Are You? - Recently I went to see a new musical, an original production with hopes for Broadway. What its chances for Broadway might be, I can’t judge. But what impressed me about it was one song. The title stuck in my mind and indeed can give us all something to think about. The song was titled “You Can’t Be a Little Bit Jewish.”... >> click here to read more

Yortzite Thoughts - Every year certain dates bring special memories. Yortzite – or Yarzeit or יארצייט or however you want to spell it – the anniversary of death of a next of kin, is a hallowed observance for many of us. We light the memorial candle. We find a synagogue and say Kaddish, if we can. And we spend a few minutes with echoes and mental pictures or faded photographs of Mom or Dad or some other close relative that once shared our life. ... >> click here to read more

A Century of Idelsohn - This month between Purim and Passover used to be called Jewish Music Month. I'd like to observe my own lifelong connection with Jewish Music by recalling a man who pioneered the science of that music, a remarkable cantor and ethnomusicologist named Abraham Zevi Idelsohn. I had the great privilege of learning from him. On the hundredth anniversary of his birth I wrote this brief story of his life and work for the Cantors Assembly Journal. ... >> click here to read more

DEBUNKING WORLD WAR II - ... If we lose, the best designed domestic policies – health care for all, economic stimuli, superb education, you name it – won’t be worth the proverbial tinker’s dam. Because they’ll be rapidly repealed by Sharia law. Women will walk around in black pup tents. Thieves will have their hands amputated. And anyone who dares criticize Mohammed will be stoned to death, like an immodest maiden. ... >> click here to read more

AMALEK AND EGYPT - Jewish holidays are times of contrast and uniformity. Oh yes, we all know about “they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” That, supposedly, is the uniform part. But the contrasts are much more dramatic. Take Purim and Passover for example. ... >> click here to read more

THE ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE - The American Thanksgiving is a delightful holiday, with good food, good friends, family gatherings. One day a year when we hear various people tell us to count our blessings. ... >> click here to read more

COLORFUL WORDS - “Barnum,” a favorite Broadway musical of ours, features a song called “The Colors of my Life” which contrasts the personalities of the legendary showman P. T. Barnum and his sweetheart Chairy, using an allegory of color. ... >> click here to read more

A HANDFULL OF STARS - It happened nearly 40 years ago and it remains a highlight in my life. The boy was 3 years old, maybe 4. He woke up one morning and said: “I had a dream last night. I was holding a lot of stars in my hand”... >> click here to read more

BIG SIBLING - I could call you Uncle Sam, but that might be politically incorrect. I could call you Aunt Samantha, but then the initials wouldn’t match the United States. And the United States is the subject. I won’t even go the Orwellian route to call you Big Brother... >> click here to read more

Please also browse Rabbi Baruch Cohon's blog >>

"Faithfully Yours --
Selected Rabbinical Correspondence
of Samuel S. Cohon"

CDs with music by Baruch Cohon

Publications

"Faithfully Yours -- Selected Rabbinical Correspondence of Samuel S. Cohon"

CDs with music by Baruch Cohon

Publications

"Faithfully Yours --
Selected Rabbinical Correspondence
of Samuel S. Cohon"