President Obama’s new “religious tolerance” consultant to the Pentagon, Mikey Weinstein, wants Christian military service members who openly talk about their faith in uniform to be charged with treason, which is a crime punishable by death according to military law.

A colleague of mine quipped the other day that the only religion he believes in is his own. “Sure,” I countered. “You piously believe in your own opinion.”

If you remember when kosher wine meant mostly cheap and sweet, you probably also know that the second part is no longer true. Today, there are plenty of quality kosher wines being made around the world.

It has been performed by the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond, and appeared everywhere from the 2012 Olympic Games to “South Park.” No longer just a musical staple of Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs, “Hava Nagila” has become a global phenomenon that has captivated the masses with its simple message of happiness and gratitude.

VATICAN CITY — Benedict XVI always cast himself as the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps to the public glare and the majesty of Vatican pageantry. And on Monday, the Vatican announced that the leader of the world's billion Roman Catholics was stepping down — the first pontiff to do so since 1415.

Almost 70 years after coming face-to-face with Dr. Josef Mengele at Auschwitz, Holocaust survivor Helen Handler still remembers his “black, shiny shoes.”

As a dark veil began to sweep over Europe in 1939 — the pale hint of what would come from Nazi rule — a stockbroker from England took a course of action that would save the lives of nearly 700 children.

These are a few of Chicky Winkleman’s favorite Hanukkah things: ironic, ugly sweaters adorned with Stars of David, his roommate’s Christmas tree and making latkes, alone in the afternoon.

Everyone knows - or at least every Jew knows - the story of Hanukkah's origins, the story of how just a tiny amount of oil miraculously burned for eight days. And they know that, in the spirit of that story, Hanukkah is celebrated in part by eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes and doughnuts.

Thanksgiving time is here. It’s easy to give thanks for the good things, but what about the difficult stuff? We are supposed to maintain thankful attitudes even IN the midst of trials (give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. [1 Thessalonians 5:18]), but what about actually being thankful FOR the trials? Ephesians 5:20 says we are to be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Fifteen dogs attended Sue Subkow’s first Halloween party in 2005. Half wore costumes, half were naked and all went home in about an hour.

Fifteen dogs attended Sue Subkow's first Halloween party in 2005. Half wore costumes, half were naked and all went home in about an hour.

• 23 million Americans are out of work, have stopped looking for work, or are underemployed.

Just in time for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, there is a closer place to celebrate the High Holidays for those in the Gilbert Jewish community.

Family, faith and suffering are resonant chords in the symphony of life and harmonizing themes for countless plays and musicals. “Fiddler on the Roof,” the story of Jewish community and tradition in turn-of-the-century Tsarist Russia, is the iconic example.

 Mitt Romney’s tough talk on foreign policy shows why we should always check the military service records of self-proclaimed superpatriots. Like Dick Cheney, John Bolton, Paul Wolfowitz, Rush Limbaugh and other Republican chicken hawks, Romney was a Vietnam draft dodger, whose five sons have similarly avoided military service.

In analyzing Sacha Baron Cohen and the array of offbeat characters he's created, it's clear that it's become a matter of diminishing returns.

Forty some years ago I was in a small town on the Fourth of July. There was the usual kind of celebrating going on but there was also a group of men passing out fliers. On one side was a peace symbol and, in large block letters, “Footprint of the American Chicken.” The war in Vietnam was still on and still dividing at home.

Forty some years ago I was in a small town on the Fourth of July. There was the usual kind of celebrating going on but there was also a group of men passing out fliers. On one side was a peace symbol and, in large block letters, “Footprint of the American Chicken.” The war in Vietnam was still on and still dividing at home.

The upcoming election is about Ann Romney, the First Lady Michelle Obama, you, my wife, and every woman in the United States who might lose their rights of choice if the GOP have their way in 2012. This fight isn’t about contraception, Ms. Turley-Hansen, it’s about a woman’s, and eventually everyone’s, right to make any decision for herself/themselves going forward in the future.

During Passover each year much of the culinary focus is on the seder, the celebratory meal that commemorates the Jewish liberation and exodus from ancient Egypt.

During Passover each year much of the culinary focus is on the seder, the celebratory meal that commemorates the Jewish liberation and exodus from ancient Egypt.

Fred Barlam of the Ahwatukee Foothills recently submitted comments to The Inbox claiming to be “a Jew.”