By Pamela Pollack-Fremd SPOKANE, Washington — Immigration has never been easy–moving to a new country, learning a new language, and adapting to new cultural norms can be the most difficult thing a person ever does. Immigrating is not easy today nor has it been easy in the past. About the Dybbuks, a collection of short stories […]
‘About the Dybbuks’ tells problems of immigrants Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, USAWINCHESTER, California (Press Release)–The story of the Jewish calendar, which begins with the Exodus from Egypt, is more than 3,500 years old. Over the millennia, the twelve individual Jewish tribes coalesced into the nation of Israel, adopting, adapting, and ultimately developing their own religious calendar, which has withstood the vagaries of the ages. At one
Reiss writes book on the Jewish calendar Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Jewish Religion
Somewhere There Is Still a Sun by Michael Gruenbaum with Todd Hasak-Lowy; Aladdin Books of Simon & Schuster Publishing; (c) 2015; ISBN 9781442-484870; 356 pages plus afterword and appendices; $8.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — This is a Holocaust memoir written for children of perhaps middle school age. It is narrated in present
Book teaches children about the Holocaust Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish HistoryBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — The important distinction made by the late Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the most significant contemporary exponent of modern Orthodox Judaism, between the covenant of fate and the covenant of destiny has important ramifications beyond Jewish theology. The covenant of fate is rooted in the paradigmatic experience of Egyptian bondage and
The difference between fate and destiny Read More »
Jewish ReligionSteven Abraham The day I was ordained from rabbinical school was one of the proudest days of my life. I was thrilled to have completed my studies, knowing that my journey and learning as a rabbi was just beginning. As I entered the world of the rabbinate, I found fault with the education I had
I say yes to mixed & same-sex couples Read More »
Jewish ReligionThe Progressive Party in Norway, one of the two ruling parties in the country (along with the Conservative Party) has announced that it intends to initiate a law banning circumcision in the country for males under the age of 16. Over the weekend, the party held a national assembly, in which the bill was put
Norway to ban circumcision? Read More »
International, Jewish ReligionBooks of the People: Revisiting Classic Works of Jewish Thought by Dr. Stuart W. Halpern, Editor, Maggid Books, Jerusalem, © 2017, ISBN 978-1-59264-470-4, hardcover, p. 350, including list of contributors, $29.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, in the early 1950s, basing their judgment on just three simple criteria:
Who wrote the great books of Jewish thought? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionThe European Jewish Congress has strongly condemned the decision of the Walloon region in southern Belgium to back the formal proscription of the slaughter of non-stunned animals as of 2019, thereby effectively banning shechita, the Jewish form of humane slaughter for meat. EJC President Dr. Moshe Kantor described the decision as “scandalous” and said it
‘Banning kosher slaughter attacks our status as equal citizens’ Read More »
International, Jewish ReligionBy Steve Kramer ALFEI MENASHE, Israel — One hundred years ago a bomb shell was dropped on the international community by the British government. It was the Balfour Declaration, a public “letter” which would have greatly cheered Theodor Herzl, the great proponent and leader of the Zionist movement, had he not succumbed to a heart
The importance of the Balfour Declaration Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, Steve KramerRabbi was MK from 1996-2009 for the right-wing Moledet and National Union parties By Times of Israel staff Benny Elon, an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Israeli parliament for Moledet and the National Union between 1996 and 2009, on October 2, 2012. (Miriam Alster/Flash90) Benny Elon, a former tourism minister, rabbi
Former tourism minister Benny Elon dies at 62 Read More »
Middle East, Obituaries & memorialsThe Wedding Plan written and directed by Rama Burshtein, distributed by Roadside Attractions; Hebrew with English subtitles. To be presented May 26 at Hillcrest Cinemas. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — There is a scene in The Wedding Plan in which Michal (Noa Koler) is being driven to the wedding hall. She has on her
Chutzpah or faith? Bride plans wedding without groom Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The sight of officials of United Airlines dragging a helpless passenger down the aisle of an airplane as other passengers scream in shock and protest is not one that I will easily forget. Physical violence of any kind is shocking, and any time the TV news shows a violent
Reflecting on the violence around us Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Middle EastI Can’t Wait – Is a Weight! By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — “And when you come to the land, you will plant all types of fruit trees. For three years, the fruit will be prohibited; in the fourth year, it will be sanctified to praise G-d, and in the fifth year and from
Weekly Torah portion: Kedoshim Read More »
Jewish ReligionDavid P. Goldman Jews are sadly accustomed to becoming collateral damage in disputes in other peoples’ civil wars. Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a senior White House official, is one of the few gentile victims of a Jewish civil war. Dr. Gorka, long a Fox News commentator on counter-terrorism, will speak at the Jerusalem Post’s annual New
Gorka: Casualty of a Jewish civil war Read More »
Jewish History, Middle East, USA