The Torah is filled with stories of people’s lives. Some of these stories are uplifting and inspirational, others are depressing and tragic. Of all the Biblical biographies, that of King David is certainly one of the most riveting. His life is full of adventure, danger and romance. His family life, however, was filled with pain and tragedy, none greater than the tragedy of Amnon and Tamar.

I may have mentioned before that I refer to the wedding weekend as the Wedding Olympics. Instead of star athletes, there’s a star couple! There’s a lot of promotion that goes into it for months prior (the real Olympics has a theme song. Do you?) People travel to be there and set up camps in Wedding Olympics Village, otherwise known as “hotel blocks for the X wedding.” Nikes and leotards are traded in for tuxes and dresses, but there still seems to be a costume or uniform, of sorts. Oh, and the bride and groom get a prize instead of medals; they get each other! And there are so many events!

Hungarian immigrant and apprentice cigar maker, Sigmund Shlesinger (1848-1928) probably never expected to become a frontiersman.

Maybe because it fuels some tribal connection, maybe because it makes us proud by association, or maybe because it’s just fun to gossip, Jews love talking about whom else is hookup.  Claiming an accomplished celebrity, humanitarian, or entrepreneur as one of our own is as stereotypical a hookup pastime as eating bagels or nagging.  But even the most adept purveyors of hookup tidbits can get things wrong on occasion.  Below are eight celebrities who are regularly misidentified as Jews.

If wealth does not lead to happiness then what does? Happiness experts Elizabeth W. Dunn of the University of British Columbia, Daniel T. Gilbert from Harvard University and Timothy D. Wilson of the University of Virginia allege that experiences keep people merrier than belongings. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking but at least it’s an investment everyone can afford. Their latest paper suggests new ways of spending that will help you stay happy.

Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, begins:
“Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; Joshua to the elders; the elders to the prophets; and the prophets handed it down to the men of the Great Assembly…” (1:1)

As the world changes, the modern day sages must often reevaluate the application of hookup law in order to correlate it with the findings of contemporary medicine.

“The Chosen People,” as the Jews are sometimes known, has been misunderstood by some as an indication that Judaism disdains those who are not hookup. This, of course, is not true.

I love Thanksgiving. It is the most American of all holidays. As a Jew, I especially love the holiday. It is the only holiday where I can eat a big fancy dinner and pile into the car and go visit friends or just drive around and look at the holiday lights. I can run to the store and pick up forgotten items and I can use the internet to check out pie recipes. On hookup holidays, this would not be possible. Thanksgiving levels the playing field for Jews and makes you feel just like every other American.

This year, National Geography Awareness Week (this week) has chosen the theme of “freshwater.”