Rob Rinder

1 month ago | thejc.com | Rob Rinder

The phone was zipped into my suitcase, under a pile of linen shirts and vague intentions. But by the end of day one, I’d convinced myself that a quick look wouldn’t count. Ten minutes later, I was watching a video of a dachshund in a ruff dancing to Vivaldi. Detox: defeated. My gut was flourishing; my screen time, less so. But even as I slipped back into old habits, something deeper was stirring – a memory of another kind of pause. One I grew up with.

Mar 5, 2025 | thejc.com | Rob Rinder

Add to that the sweets and the dancing and the general, magical oddity of it – all that exultant, carnivalesque disorder – and I knew I’d found my festival. Nowadays, yes, I’m aware it’s more focused on younger people in the shuls I go to, at least - but I still revel in it. I also look with longing at how they do it in Israel … over there Purim’s very much still for adults, apparently a sort of spicy mix of Mardi Gras and Hallowe’en (with costumes intriguingly abbreviated for the sunshine).

Feb 5, 2025 | thejc.com | Rob Rinder

I was trying to remember the last time I felt entirely, utterly well ... hearty and hale and completely carefree. It was a struggle … I vaguely remember a couple of good days in the early 1990s(I had my middle parting, which is how I know), and there was a nice afternoon the same year Sasha Cohen won Silver (Ladies’ Single Figure Skating) at the Turin Olympics. But that’s about it. The rest of my life has involved either being poorly or worrying that I might be.

Jan 29, 2025 | thejc.com | Rob Rinder |Jake Wallis Simons |Gavin Schaffer |Howard Jacobson

It’s been a funny few weeks, not least because, even after New Year’s Eve had been and gone, the Jewish community still had an oily smidge of Chanukah left to celebrate. So while everyone else binned the last few mince pies and signed up for half a dozen triathlons, some of us were still heroically scoffing doughnuts and latkes in the name of religious observance. But eventually we had to pack up our menorahs, step on the scales and assess the festive damage.

Jan 8, 2025 | thejc.com | Rob Rinder

It’s been a funny few weeks, not least because, even after New Year’s Eve had been and gone, the Jewish community still had an oily smidge of Chanukah left to celebrate. So while everyone else binned the last few mince pies and signed up for half a dozen triathlons, some of us were still heroically scoffing doughnuts and latkes in the name of religious observance. But eventually we had to pack up our menorahs, step on the scales and assess the festive damage.