Trigger Warning

September 19, 2026

I went to synagogue services today, usually considered a slow day in the worship business, because it falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, akin to the gap between the conference championship and the Super Bowl. I went for two reasons, my lovely wife was going to make a presentation and it was the anniversary on the Jewish calendar of my mother's death, her Yahrzeit (literally year time), beginning at sundown tonight.

My wife spoke about Connie Goldfarb, a towering figure though standing barely over five feet tall. Connie emerged from the very insular Brooklyn Syrian Jewish community to get a doctorate and teach college, when most of her peers were limited to a high school education. We knew her as an accomplished and articulate woman as well as a caring wife, mother and grandmother.

.  .  .

Time Out has identified the alleged 40 coolest neighborhoods in the world, "selected by its global network of local editors and experts." https://www.timeout.com/about/latest-news/seouls-jongno-3-ga-named-the-coolest-neighbourhood-in-the-world-by-time-out-091526

Now, I believe that it is perfectly reasonable for you to assert that wherever you live is a cool neighborhood, a crucial factor in choosing to live there, and the expertise of the experts may be measured by their agreement with your opinion. While I lack the experience to dispute the choice of Seoul’s Jongno 3-ga as the coolest neighborhood in the world, I know that the "network of local editors and experts" needs to get out more and discover parts of the Holy Land that they obviously overlooked. The best that we can do, according to them, is the Financial District (Wall Street and environs) at #28, considerably lagging Chinatown Los Angeles #4 and West Town Chicago #18 on the domestic front. Without even bothering to name them out loud, there are so many local neighborhoods that should pepper this list, attracting more than struggling starlets and stand-up comedians.

Sunday, September 20, 2026

Our household subscribes to the New York Times, giving us digital access and the daily printed newspaper. As I noted before, the occasionally long gap between seeing an article online and its appearance in print can be disorienting. When a week intervenes, as it sometimes does, I lose confidence in the space-time continuum.

An important article appeared online today, "In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magazine/ny-public-schools-black-students-segregation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

It will be printed in the magazine section of September 27th. A reporter discusses the choice that she and her husband, a prosperous Black couple, made concerning their daughter's education.  They consciously avoided racially integrated schools with a socioeconomic profile closer to their own, staying with neighborhood Brooklyn schools, mostly low income and Black, with recognized deficiencies. They felt that their presence and values might, to some degree, elevate the environment and advance the quest for educational equality. 

Read the article one way or the other and consider our seriously flawed public education system. 

Monday, September 21, 2026

Benjamin Moser has written Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History, discussing the often-overlooked history of Jewish anti-Zionism, a position that he has adopted. I haven't read the book, but I saw his interesting observation on how American Jews traditionally viewed Israel: “Israel was like a hospital or a university or a park, and I think that most Jewish-Americans looked at Israel with the same kind of benevolence with which they might view a dog shelter or a food bank: which is to say that they were happy it existed, willing to help, grateful for a brief tour, but not overly interested in its inner workings.”  

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Speaking of Israel, an article in the New York Times about the feud between Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani contained such a stupid statement that I quickly wrote a letter to the editor, never to be published.

"You write that 'there have been no riots targeting Jewish New Yorkers in the city since Mr. Mamdani was elected mayor in November.'

This contrasts with which American city?"

Upon reflection, I might have also noted that there have been no elephant stampedes in the city since Mr. Mamdani was elected mayor in November. 

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

The New York Times asks "Is this the busiest restaurant in America?" It looks for the answer in a recent article in the Houston Chronicle. Aga’s is No. 1 in the world for Uber Eats orders

Aga's Restaurant & Catering, 11842 Wilcrest Drive, Houston, Texas, with seating for over 700 people, "has the most Uber Eats orders of any single-location restaurant in the world." For what it's worth, Palak Paneer, cubed cottage cheese in pureed spinach, often my dinner date's first choice, is $14.99, while I like Goat Biryani (lamb not offered), spiced meat, slow cooked in rice for $17.99. These prices are about 10-30% less than what I am used to paying.  

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Here is an illustration of the changing face of American employment.

In the crudest terms, we have gone from a nation of makers to a nation of caretakers.

.  .  .

I parked my car around the corner from Milano Market, 1582 Third Avenue, so I would have a place to eat my sandwich. Otherwise, I would have to rent a place in the neighborhood or schlep a chair to East 89th Street. A reasonable effort would be justified. They make a nice sandwich, but offer no seating.

I had eye of round roast on a freshly-baked 6" semolina roll with horseradish mayonnaise ($15.95, credit card 3% more). The meat was one inch thick throughout the sandwich, I am pleased to report. It took some twisting and turning in the driver's seat, however, to avoid all but a few crumbs as I bit into the crunchy bread. Mission accomplished.

Friday, September 25, 2026

We are in the middle of Sukkot, one of the string of Jewish holidays at this time of year, giving us two days a week off, that eased our transition from summer vacation back to school.

A special treat for the Upper West Side's Power Couple regularly at Sukkot is the festive meal prepared by Aunt Judi. Her mastery of Kosher cuisine is legendary. The menu tonight was zucchini mushroom soup with matzoh balls and meatballs; coleslaw; brisket in brown gravy; corn flake chicken schnitzel; pargiyot (grilled marinated chicken thighs); brown rice with onions, scallions and dates; cauliflower soufflé; apple crisp; chocolate chip cookies; pareve ice cream (homemade [come on, everything is homemade]). Lots of wine, including a delightful Goose Bay (New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc, Perrier and Coke Zero. All of this was consumed in the outdoor sukkah (temporary shelter evocative of the time spent in Sinai) before the threatened storm reached the metropolitan area.