Rabbi Brant Rosen
[Note about Purim and the traditions of humor in the weeks leading up to it. Ed.]

Though we Jews do alright in the moral exemplar department, it must be admitted that we’ve been known to induce wincing on occasion. Yes, it’s time for:

Rabbi Rosen’s “Shandeh for the Goyim Awards” (aka “Jews Behaving Badly”)

Bad start to the “make of you a great nation” thing…
Abraham marries off his wife Sarah to Pharaoh to placate the Egyptians.

And I’ll bet he’s a hip-hop fan too…
Aaron and Miriam publicly dis their brother Moses for marrying a black woman.

On the bright side, I hear Yavneh is beautiful this time of year…
Jewish internecine fighting results in the fall of the 2nd Temple and Roman conquest of Jerusalem.

See Under: “No Greater Honor”
The Union of Orthodox Rabbis excommunicates Reconstructionist founder Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan.

What do you mean there’s no kosher meal?
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis attend a Holocaust denial conference in Iran.

Hey, you schmooze, you lose…
Jerry Seinfeld refuses to pay an orthodox Jewish real estate agent her $100,000.00 commission because she wouldn’t show him a property on Shabbat.

Let’s add another ten years for the goofy nickname…
I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby is tried for leaking information about an undercover CIA agent to the press.

But at least the napkin rings were tasteful…
Defense contractor David H. Brooks holds a Bat Mitzvah party for his daughter at the Rainbow Room for an alleged $10 million, with entertainment provided by 50 Cent, Tom Petty and Aerosmith, among others.

It’s not just for American presidents any more…
The President of Israel, Moshe Katzav, resigns his post after allegations of sexual misconduct.

Trust me, nothing good can come of studying Torah with Tom DeLay…
Jack A. Abramoff pleads guilty in Federal Court to five criminal felonies, including defrauding Native American tribes and corruption of public officials.