Judaism

Baby Moses and the Unaccompanied Migrant Minors

Enrique Morones, a humanitarian who has spent decades advocating for dignified and welcoming treatment for migrants, told Thursday of a woman at a Jewish congregation who expressed shock that parents would allow their minor children to cross into the United States by themselves to whatever fate might await them. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, USA

Tragedy Strikes on Joyous Day of Lag B’Omer

Sometimes when we are hit with an immense tragedy we are left speechless. The Torah tells us that after the Jewish people had inaugurated the Mishkan (Tabernacle), Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, died tragically. At the height of the celebration tragedy struck. The Torah tells us that Aharon was silent (“VaYidom Aharon”), there was nothing for him to say. G-d Himself, and the Children of Israel led by Moshe, came to comfort Aharon in his profound distress. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Who was Shimon Bar Yochai?

An Israeli national disaster occurred at the Lag B’Omer festival on Mount Meron in northern Israel on April 28 when 45 people were killed and 155 were injured when thousands people gathered in the tightly packed confines of a compound surrounding the grave of a Jewish holy man. The tragic incident demands answers for why a hundred thousand mainly Haredi Jews from Israel and abroad would make their way to this isolated site at this special time. [Barry Shaw]

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Barry Shaw, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

CD Compiles Music from Jewish and Other Ghettos

Frank London, jazz trumpeter, band leader, co-founder of the Klezmatics, founder of the Klezmer Brass Allstars and co-founder of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, is one of the most important figures in the Klezmer Renaissance. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, majoring in Afro-American Music, he is also well schooled in World Music. Currently, he serves on the music faculty of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Some Jewish Race Car Stories You May Not Have Known

If it had not been for a nice Yiddishe fellow, Siegfried Marcus, there would not have been the internal combustion engine. Greta Thunberg would be thrilled today.  No cars, no CO2 or sulfur emissions to cause global warming and give the antisemites something else to hate the Jews over.  [Jerry Klinger]

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International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, USA

Treating everyone with compassion

When we speak words of Torah, we enhance our life, and the lives of others. To do so is a choice we make. We can surely choose not to and when we select that path, we largely create acrimony in our life and in the lives of others. While the sanctity of the Kohanim is a major theme in this week’s Torah reading, we also see another key theme in the parasha, the holiness of Shabbat, of time, and of the festivals we are blessed to enjoy. It is this latter theme that caught my attention. To be holy is freeing, expansive, liberating, to help us connect with Hashem, and properly with one another. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

ADL: 2,024 Antisemitic Incidents in U.S. in 2020

Antisemitic incidents remained at a historically high level across the United States in 2020, with a total of 2,024 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). While antisemitic incidents declined by 4 percent after hitting an all-time high in 2019, last year was still the third-highest year for incidents against American Jews since ADL started tracking such data in 1979. [ADL Press Release]

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Jewish History, USA