Walter Koenig, Star Trek's Pavel Chekov, dies at age 90 | The Jerusalem Post

First Nemoy, now Koenig... Only one original Jewish member of the Enterprise bridge left...

Walter Koenig, Star Trek's Pavel Chekov, dies at age 90 | The Jerusalem Post Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek series and seven films, has died at 90, leaving behind a lasting sci-fi legacy. jpost.com Read more of “Walter Koenig, Star Trek's Pavel Chekov, dies at age 90 | The Jerusalem Post”
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A Week in the Life of a Synagogue Merger - October 26th

I went to services at our partner congregation on Saturday.

Now, I've been telling everyone at our congregation as to how similar the services are - I've sat through one bar mitzvah there in the last few years - but this was the first time I've gone over to actually sit on a regular Shabbat morning and enjoy the services. (And for those who actually haven't guessed - most Shabbats, I don't end up sitting in a pew, but rather I'm playing greeter.)

So.. the services were like 85% the same as ours, another 5% close and... we'll have to figure out the other 10%. It was nice to just daven for once.

On the other hand, I have to say that it's beautiful how warm their congregation was to those of us who'd come to visit for the morning, and I felt very welcome. My wife came away from it saying that she could definitely imagine being there for services on the regular.

Point of humor though - my counterpart at their congregation grew up at ours. His mom and aunt were my wife's hebrew school teachers when she was little, and they came over to meet us when we were in the sanctuary. And his mom takes one look at me after I introduce myself and goes, "Oh, so you're the one my son's spending more time with than his wife lately."

I love these people.

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From burned books to Jewish authority: How Maimonides overcame centuries of controversy

Revered today as one of Judaism’s greatest thinkers, Maimonides once faced fierce opposition over his legal rulings and philosophy, with critics accusing him of heresy and his books burned. How did the medieval scholar become a central authority across the Jewish world?

From burned books to Jewish authority: How Maimonides overcame centuries of controversy Revered today as one of Judaism’s greatest thinkers, Maimonides once faced fierce opposition over his legal rulings and philosophy, with critics accusing him of heresy and his books burned. How did the medieval scholar become a central authority across the Jewish world? ynetnews.com Read more of “From burned books to Jewish authority: How Maimonides overcame centuries of controversy”
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Shabbat Shalom for October 23, 2026

Shabbat shalom, everyone.

Welcome to the second Shabbat together! This is a weekly thread where we can come together at the end of the week.

Tell others about yourself. Say something that's alive in you, your thoughts, feelings, something on your mind.

Whatever this Shabbat looks like for you, you’re welcome at this table.

One sentence is plenty, and the thread will still be here afterwards.

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Rugela Bake for the week of October 17-22, 2026

The second Rugela bake!

There have been a large number of behind the scenes changes this week, so less visible changes to you all, but still a lot of wonderful updates

  • The home feed has a sort menu - This is something several of you asked for. You wanted to sort by most Active posts (default) and Newest. Now you can!
  • No more jittery home page - We had a feature that inserted random stories on the home page. That's gone and the home page feels more stable now.
  • You can now star a post from the home page - Several of you asked for this. Now it's there!
  • Links in posts and comments render better. - There was a bug in the renderer. That's fixed.
  • Link previews work for more sites. - Some sites weren't giving link previews. We now support more sites!

Some smaller but still important changes:

  • Phasing away from toasts - This is a bit more insider, but when you change a setting, it won't show the temporary notification thing on the side anymore. Those things are unpleasant, and less accessible, so they're going away. Most of them are gone already.
  • Profile tabs work better now - There was a bug around tabbing that's fixed.
    The settings menu link is labelled "Settings". - The old phrasing of "Personal Profile" was confusing.

Hope you all enjoy the changes! Be sure to send your suggestions to suggestions@rugela.com and stay tuned for next week's update!

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Science prodigy, 16, from Belgium heading to Israel to do university research

A teenage science prodigy from Belgium who got his doctorate in quantum physics at the age of 15, is heading to Israel to be a researcher at Bar-Ilan University.

Science prodigy, 16, from Belgium heading to Israel to do university research - The Jewish Chronicle Laurent Simons was 15 when he got his PhD and he dreams of being able to extend human life thejc.com Read more of “Science prodigy, 16, from Belgium heading to Israel to do university research”
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Historic East End synagogue receives nearly £200k in heritage grants

Sandys Row Synagogue, one of only two shuls still functioning in London’s East End, has received nearly £200,000 in grants to support a project which aims to ensure its future as a place of worship, heritage, and learning.

“Sandys Row Synagogue has a very special history, and we have many members who trace their ancestry back to the founders,” said synagogue chair Harvey Rifkind.

Historic East End synagogue receives nearly £200k in heritage grants - The Jewish Chronicle Sandys Row Synagogue is being helped by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust thejc.com Read more of “Historic East End synagogue receives nearly £200k in heritage grants”
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The ovary doesn’t retire after menopause

Study in human ovaries found they have increased inflammation, structural changes in tissue decades after menopause

The ovary doesn’t retire after menopause Contrary to popular belief, the postmenopausal ovary is not defunct. In a new, paradigm-shifting study in ovaries from 28 women, scientists at Northwestern University and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging found in the decades well past menopause, the ovary remains biologically active and continues to remodel with age, showing increased inflammation and changes in tissue structure. <br /> news.northwestern.edu Read more of “The ovary doesn’t retire after menopause”
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Does The Sabbath App Really Help You Stay Off Your Phone for Shabbat?

Does The Sabbath App Really Help You Stay Off Your Phone for Shabbat? – Kveller I am not the target demographic for the Sabbath app. Created by Dig Wells, Inc., the tech startup behind digital reader app Matter, Sabbath is a play on existing smartphone time restriction controls — choose apps you want to stay off, pick your Sabbath (Saturday or Sunday), and the app will keep you from accessing […] kveller.com
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Make your smart TV dumb again

This article talks ostensibly about LLMs being used to make your smart TV dumb, but the larger point is getting rid of the things in your television that you don't want to be there and having it do what you bought it to do.

People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again | TechCrunch Fed up with ads, tracking, and sluggish interfaces, some smart TV owners are turning to AI agents to strip away bloatware and take back control of their TVs. techcrunch.com Read more of “Make your smart TV dumb again”
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