By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California–Popular culture often adds its own midrashic spin to famous biblical stories. The episode known as the Akedah, “The Binding of Isaac” illustrates the harrowing chapter when Abraham almost saw his future go literally, “up in smoke.” Bob Dylan and Woody Allen both add a remarkable subtext to […]
God wanted Abraham to just say no Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Retirement is becoming a more distant dream for a rising number of older Americans, largely because they need the money but also because they are healthy enough to keep working. The percentage of 65-plus women who are working jumped more than 4 percentage points to 12.5%.
Abraham proved the Power of One Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — I have always found this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27), especially inspiring and instructive. It is in this parsha that we are told the story of Abraham’s aliyah, of his journey to the Holy Land. What amazes me, and what readers of the Bible
The aliyot of Abraham and his modern-day followers Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California —These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfecta in his generations, and Noah walked with God (Gen 6:9). אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹחַ (Gen 6:9 ) in his generation – What is signified by “perfect in his generation”? R. Yochanan said:
Noah & Abraham: A Rabbinical Comparison Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — I wonder how to label this column: as concerned with an issue as profound as Iran’s nuclear program or Palestinians’ desire for gaining a state with minimum concessions, or as just another annoyance on our Jewish road through history? What various ancient Greeks and Romans viewed as repulsive and barbaric,
European body votes to challenge circumcision Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — The Torah is replete with inspiring stories of its heroes. The lives of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David, to name just a few, are narrated at great length and in vivid detail. Their noble acts and admirable accomplishments are described, and even their occasional faults or failures
Why do we know so little of Abraham’s childhood? Read More »
Jewish ReligionWe’re Missing the Point: What’s Wrong with the Orthodox Jewish Community and How to Fix It by Rabbi Dr. Gidon Rothstein, OU Press, New York, ISBN 978-01-6028–202-5 ©2012, $25.00, p. 252 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Outsiders might wonder what could possibly be wrong within the Orthodox Jewish community. Until the Age of
Rabbi offers pathway for Orthodox Jews Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Aryeh Savir Yad Vashem recently recognized Dr. Mohamed Helmy and Frieda Szturmann as Righteous Among the Nations, an honorary title bestowed by Yad Vashem on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish people to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The title is awarded by a special
Egyptian, German named ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ Read More »
Jewish ReligionRabbi Yosef Bitton, Awesome Creation: A Study of the Thirst Three Verses of the Torah; Gefen Publishing House (2013). ISBN-10: 9652295566. Price: $24. 26. Rating: 3 stars out of 5. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As someone who has written on the first three chapters of Genesis, I was interested in seeing
Jewish Orthodoxy and the Cosmos Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiFrom Enemy To Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, John Connelly, author. Harvard University Press, 2012, 376 pp. By David Strom CHULA VISTA, California— From Enemy to Brother is a powerful and moving account of the origins and passage of the 1965 Vatican II document on Jews that changed centuries of official
Book traces church’s warming toward the Jews Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, ISRAEL –Just as Americans remember where they were when Jack Kennedy was assassinated, Israelis remember where they were when the sirens went at 2 p.m. on Saturday, 6th October, 1973. Anyone who is now under forty or had not yet immigrated to Israel and wasn’t there at that crucial time
In the maternity ward at the onset of the Yom Kippur War Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History
By Anav Silverman A series of photos documenting the observance of Sukkot in Ghetto Lodz in 1941 were recently revealed by the Shem Olam Institute, also known as the Faith and the Holocaust Institute for Education Documentation and Research in Kfar Haroeh. The photos show the ghetto’s Jewish occupants praying with the four species; the
Sukkot in the Lodz ghetto 1941 Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The Chinese say, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Recently we began our spiritual journey with a celebration of Yom Kippur—a holiday that is wholly devoted to the cultivation of forgiveness and spiritual renewal—both as individuals and as a community. “I
Post Yom Kippur question: What are limits of forgiveness? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–There are times I believe we Jews should begin a Society for New Israel. The objectives for this society would be to find some place on Earth where we Jews can begin a nation anew, a place where our traditions, customs, inventiveness, drive and values would be welcomed, not rejected.
A Society for New Israel Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion