BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

The Jewish high holidays -- which end today on Yom Kippur -- are a time when many are called upon to repent and seek forgiveness from others. But in a world where the Internet has increasingly become a way to communicate, some are replacing one-on-one apologies with Facebook and Twitter updates during the Jewish holy days. That concerns Rabbi Jason Miller of Congregation T'chiyah in Oak Park, who sees some using the impersonal nature of the Web as a way to avoid real interaction. He plans to talk about the issue today to his congregation during services on what is known as the Day of Atonement. "We've lost the personal touch," said Miller, who also is the rabbi of Tamarack Camps in Michigan. "There should be an effort, a little challenge to go up to another person and seek forgiveness, to admit our wrongdoing." Miller often uses social media himself and blogs at blog.rabbijason.com, but cautions against overdoing it. He notes one Facebook update he got Frida...

As if there was any more reason evidence to show that while race relations has moved forward in this country -- gender relationships and the equality of women has gone nowhere and remains in the dark ages... just a few steps from rape and exploitation being JUSTIFIABLE in terms of respect and women being viewed merely as sex objects. And this from incoming Team Obama. Jon Favreau, just another Facebook victim The WaPo today obtained this lovely photo of Obama's speechwriter, Jon Favreau, which was posted on Facebook. Of course now all photos of Favreau are — poof! — gon e, but alas, not before this minor offense made its way to the surface. You knew it was going to happen. ... The charming, nice and fun Favreau, 27, has long been touted as a huge rising star — and not just because he shares a name with a famous actor. ( Also fun fact: He was the valedictorian at College of the Holy Cross.) Still, it's been reported that Favreau has reached out to Clinton to apologize. SOURC...

The endgame of Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination took an unexpected turn today as her husband, former President Bill Clinton, updated his status on a popular social networking site. Visitors to Mr. Clinton's profile page at Facebook noticed that minutes after Mrs. Clinton suspended her campaign, President Clinton updated his status from "Married" to "It's Complicated." The former president also added several items under the category of "looking for" on his profile page. Previously, Mr. Clinton had indicated that he was on Facebook primarily for "networking," but today he added "friendship," "dating," and "a relationship" to the list. When asked what significance, if any, Mr. Clinton's profile updates had for his relationship with Mrs. Clinton, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson offered an evasive response. "What can I tell you?" he said. "It's complicat...

By Dr Andre Oboler Eighty-three-year-old President Shimon Peres recently urged young people to fight anti-Semitism using Facebook. Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog met with delegates to the World Union of Jewish Students in the Knesset last week and told us to employ technology to combat Jew-hatred. Herzog, who is also responsible for relations with world Jewry and the fight against anti-Semitism, wants us to fight the good fight via the Internet. "Who's going to pay for this?" I asked. Try British Jewry, he helpfully suggested. But when I approached figures in the British Jewish leadership, they suggested - you guessed it - that I turn to the Israelis. Peres helpfully proposed a specific technology to focus on - Facebook - and I agree with his choice. If only we knew precisely what to do, and how to do it. The idea probably stems from the fact that Peres recently met Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In fact, Facebook is not only ...