"Talk is cheap," Rabbi Menachem Schmidt told an enthralled congregation on a recent Friday night, their half-filled plastic Kiddush cups raised high. "The reason we drink wine on the Sabbath is to show something special is happening here." The Lubavitch rabbi then led the crowd in prayer, eliciting a collective "Amen." Indeed, this was no ordinary Shabbat service. Schmidt was...

A poem for my friendly neighborhood mango fans: "Mango me baby, it's the fruit you need to eat, It's got vitamins and nutrients, and it can tenderize meat Sweet and tart and lusciously golden, red and green in hue This tropical fruit is perfect for me and for you." OK, so I'm not waiting for the Pulitzer Prize committee to...