July 28, 2008 by Baruch.

Can you win this  year’s Cohon Award of $18,000?  Do you know someone who should?  Deadline to apply or recommend is September 1.   Learn all about it at www.cohonaward.com 

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December 2, 2007 by Baruch.

My bronze star is not a medal.  I didn’t get it from Uncle Sam.  It is a photograph of a beautiful sculptured Star of David, and I got it from a very talented friend named Marilyn Simon who created the original artwork.  For some visual treats, check out her website, on the link list to the right.

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October 18, 2007 by Baruch.

Freedom OF religion?  Or freedom FROM religion?   What does the Constitution say?  We’ve all read it: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”   

An establishment.   That is the separation that must be kept.  The Constitution does not separate religion as such from public or private life.  Many of the Founding Fathers were reportedly not churchgoers but they were Deists.  They believed in G-d.  They intended that Americans would always have the right to worship in their own ways, and they embodied that right in the First Amendment.

Prohibiting all religious expression in public events is therefore illegal.  That includes non-sectarian prayer, the pledge of allegiance, displaying the Ten Commandments, etc.  Prohibiting those expressions is just as illegal as it would be to pass a resolution declaring the United States to be a Christian country, or a Muslim country, or a Jewish country.  No atheist should be punished for abstaining, and no believer should be prevented from praying.

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May 10, 2007 by Baruch.

TARA Publications is to be congratulated for publishing the new musical anthology “Shirim l’amee — Songs for my People” composed by Rabbi-Cantor Baruch Cohon.  It is a telling musical portrait that reveals several sides of this talented clergyman and “Shaliach Tsibbur.”  There is the experience and savvy of a successful Hazzan and Jewish educator, the creativeness of a former television writer and producer, and the lyrical “tam” of a sweet singer of Israel.  The reader will find many treasures to savor and practically employ.  Throughout its solo, two-part and choral textures in Hebrew, Yiddish and English, “Shirim l’amee” is sure to delight you.  It is a selective sampling of a Jewish life well sung.

Dr. Michael Isaacson, composer

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