Grossman argues that sacrifices are not primitive rituals intended merely to appease God. Instead, they are symbolic acts through which worshippers express gratitude, repentance, devotion, dependence, celebration, and reconciliation. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
‘The Sacrificial Service’: Leviticus teaches valuable lessons Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThe book begins with a puzzle. The passionate love poetry of the Song of Songs, the practical wisdom of Proverbs, and the philosophical skepticism of Ecclesiastes appear so different that many readers wonder why they belong together in Scripture. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Solomon’s contributions to the Bible weighed through Rashi’s lens Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
It isn’t a stuffy monument. It is now the only presidential center – a place inviting people to participate not simply in remembering the past but to actively take part in the present and to create a future in that space. [Barrett Holman Leak]
The Shema and the Obama Presidential Center Read More »
Barrett Holman Leak, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
A few days ago, I attended a book talk for On Being Jewish Now, a collection of essays reflecting on Jewish life after October 7. About 50 people had gathered inside a posh clothing store in Beverly Hills, and before long the conversation gave way to a familiar ritual of trauma bonding and story telling. Personal accounts of fear, identity, and all the difficult ways our lives have changed over the last 20 months. [Karen Klein]
To retreat into safe Jewish spaces or participate fully in American pluralism? Read More »
Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
This was a fascinating memoir, and I enjoyed reading about someone working behind the scenes in entertainment journalism, chasing celebrity gossip and experiencing the adrenaline rush that came with it. Weinstein notes that she is now retired and enjoying every minute of it. [Cailin Acosta]
‘Tortured Soles’ is a celebrity gossip book with a double-entendre title Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Secluded and protected by dense forests and foolish local superstition, the Kreskol community continued to live as though the twentieth century had never happened. The residents still speak Yiddish, observe traditional Jewish customs, and know nothing of the Holocaust, the Cold War, automobiles, electricity, TV, or the Internet. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
‘The Lost Shtetl’ is a fictional ‘what if?’ novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The negative commandments can often be fulfilled alone. They require restraint. The positive mitzvot, however, requires a relationship. You cannot welcome a stranger without a community. [Betzy Lynch]
Judaism has a ‘to do’ list Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & BroadcastPeople can even learn how to improve themselves from stories about dreams, such as Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, found in Genesis 28:10-22. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
Wisdom comes from many sources, even from dreams Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
To be a person of African heritage and a Jewess is to hold a deep, ancestral understanding of what it means to be pulled from the depths, to celebrate a hard-won liberty, and to remain fiercely determined to stay free. [Barrett Holman Leak]
Juneteenth has deep meaning, especially for someone born Black and Jewish Read More »
Barrett Holman Leak, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
The life of Felix Hausdorff is a profound story of duality: he was a brilliant German scientist and writer. But alongside this duality, there existed a Jewish-German duality: Hausdorff was German by culture and Jewish by blood. He considered German science and culture his own, belonged to the highest academic elite of Germany, but the forces ruling German society saw in him, a brilliant scientist, an inferior outsider doomed to destruction. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish biography: Felix Hausdorff, mathematician & philosopher Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Leon Wieseltier (June 14, 1952) is an American critic and magazine editor. From 1983 to 2014, he was the literary editor of The New Republic. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Leon Wieseltier Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
La Mesa Arts Academy’s eighth-grade Social Studies classes, taught by Mrs. Debra Lunamand and Mrs. Heather Filippelli, participated in The Butterfly Project just before the end of the school year as students completed testing and finalized semester grades. More than 300 plaster butterflies were painted. [Cailin Acosta]
Eighth-grade students commemorate the Holocaust by painting ceramic butterflies Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Irving Howe (June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American author, literary and social critic, and a key figure in the democratic socialist movement in the U.S. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish birthday: Irving Howe Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Today's Jewish Birthday, WikipediaThe tale turns to two timelines. In 1938, while Nazi Germany was in turmoil, young Sarah Frank escaped persecution against Jews. She finds refuge in a traveling circus populated by lion trainers, acrobats, elephant handlers, and interesting, sometimes strange people. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Novel is based on what an old lion swallowed Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Fiction, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food