Passover long and short - How late does your seder go?

Passover is famous for its fours. There are four sons, four cups of wine and four questions. But an unofficial fifth question has some Jews asking after the sedarim: On those nights, how late did you go?

Marilyn Fine, a Jewish educator in Silver Spring, says that among her friends and acquaintances, there is usually a hint of friendly competition to see whose seder lasted the longest. At her home, she proudly answers, it can last up to five and a half hours -- or about the time it takes to fly from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles.

The key ingredient, however, isn't an unofficial fifth glass of wine (or six or seven). It is the rich dinner table discussions, explains Fine, 59.

Kingsley reflects on Shoah-themed roles

In the opening scene of the 1989 autobiographical film Murderers Among Us, Simon Wiesenthal staggers to the ground, clutching sketches of the atrocities he witnessed inside the newly liberated Mauthausen concentration camp.

For Sir Ben Kingsley, the acclaimed British actor born Krishna Pandit Bhanji, playing the famed Jewish Nazi hunter, was both a privilege and a responsibility.

Majoring in good deeds - Listening 101 a required course at Sh'ma U

B'nai Shalom of Olney became a one-stop-shop of Jewish learning, good deeds and loving-kindness Sunday morning as the shul underwent its annual transformation into Sh'ma University, a multifaceted program that attracted more than 250 participants.

Delivering the event's opening remarks, California-based author and rabbi, Naomi Levy, one of Newsweek's 50 most influential rabbis, said: "The most important part of what sh'ma means is that we have to listen and pay attention and understand that God has a job for us ... to be God's helper [and] make this world a better place."

Symbol or relevant text? - Panel looks at Ten Commandments

Quick: Name all Ten Commandments. Chances are, if you're like most Americans, you cannot, David Hazony, author of the new book, The Ten Commandments: How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life, said.

"According to polls, only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of them," said Hazony. Yet 90 percent of Americans have a strong op

Reform called good for Egypt; bad for America, Israel

A posting has made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter in recent days: "Dear Egyptian Rioters: Please do not destroy the pyramids. We will not rebuild. Love, the Jews."

A humorous commentary, but the tongue-in-cheek post also points to a larger truth about the current turmoil in Egypt and its impact on Israel: A more open and freer Egyptian society would bring many positive democratic reforms to governance for its people, but it would most likely not usher in warmer relations with Israel.

Where the boys are

Frogs and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails -- that's what little boys are made of, says the old nursery rhyme. But active in Jewish institutional life?

It seems, they are not.

A recently released study titled "Engaging Jewish Teenage Boys: A Call to Action," and conducted by the Philadelphia-based organization, Moving Traditions, found that teenage boys drop out of Jewish institutions in large numbers shortly after becoming b'nai mitzvah -- and they rarely come back.

Latkes and loot: Is Chanukah for grown-ups?

My catalogue-stuffed mailbox was the first reminder that Chanukah, or rather the season of shopping, was fast approaching.

Years of Hebrew school had taught me, despite its proximity to Christmas, that Jews were not supposed to commemorate the miracle of a small jar of oil by collecting lots of loot.

Yet I wondered, without the anticipation of gifts, would the festival of lights still be as festive for grown-ups? Does the atmosphere of play still surround the chanukiyah of those over the age of consent?