Attorney Susan J. Cohen on "US Immigration Stories Up-Close and Personal"

Susan J. Cohen, a member of Boston’s Mintz law firm with a home in the Berkshires, is a nationally recognized immigration attorney and the author (with Steven T. Taylor) of "Journeys From There to Here: Stories of Immigrant Trials, Triumphs and Contributions." She spoke with the BJV about…

Berkshire Jewish Voices: Finding Comfort Outside Our Comfort Zones

Richard Reiss felt certain that his close adult friendships would be formed with people from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds, as they were during his youth. That didn't happen - the social circles he inhabited were predominantly Jewish. In this Berkshire Jewish Voices…

In My View: Ascending Our Communal Ladder

In this month's In My View column, Federation president Elisa Schindler-Frankel reflects on a record-setting fundraising year in 2021 and shares some thoughts on all that might be accomplished by this organization in the year ahead

In Time for Purim: Booze and Jews (A History in [Some] Moderation), Part II

In the second part of his history of the Jewish connection to the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages, the BJV's bronfin (Yiddish for whisky) correspondent Alex Rosenblum explores 20th century liquor moguls, 21st century kiddush clubs, and 16th century kashrut issues

Imagining Unconditional Love as Our Fallback Position Towards Others

In this Rabbi Reflection, Rabbi Neal Borovitz explores the danger of "sinat chinam" (groundless hatred) within the Jewish community and how it might be checked by the practice of "ahavat chinam" (unconditional love).