Jewish Religion

A Non-Traditional Interpretation of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet)

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are many widely different interpretations of the biblical book Ecclesiastes, Kohelet in Hebrew. Here is another one. A non-traditional one. It sees the book telling readers how they should behave. The name The root kahal in Hebrew means “assembly.” The Latin Ecclesiastes has the same […]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Parashat Bereishit: Beginning Anew With the Right Mindset

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — With Bereishit We Begin Learning Torah… With our holiday season behind us, we begin anew by recounting the Seven Days of Creation, reading the story of the very first Shabbat – Hashem’s Shabbat. This experience with the right mindset, brings a deep sense of gratitude, comfort, awe,

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Will ‘Jewish Women in Time and Torah’ Stimulate Change in the Orthodox World?

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Urim Publications and Ktav Publishing in Jerusalem and New York have just republished Jewish Women in Time and Torah. It focuses on three periods of time in how Judaism treated women: (1) The early period of more than a thousand years until around the beginning of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

A Journal to Prompt Children to Express Themselves

Here is a journal encouraging children between the ages of 7 and 13 to read, think, and write about everyday secular and Jewish topics.  Because it will encourage their children’s self-expression, parents may find this an ideal gift for one of the days of Chanukah. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles

A San Diego Rabbi’s Incisive Analysis of the Book of Numbers

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Maimonides’ Hidden Torah Commentary: Numbers is the latest of the many brilliant, learned, eye-opening, easy-to-read, and easy-to-understand books by the brilliant scholar Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel. It is another one of his excellent contributions to scholarship. San Diego County’s own Rabbi Samuel — currently the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Sefaria Unveils First-Ever Digital English Translation of ‘Mishneh Torah’ Interconnected With Other Jewish Texts

(Press Release) For the first time ever, learners can experience a full digital, English translation of the Mishneh Torah interconnected with other Jewish texts, thanks to Sefaria, a non-profit organization that digitizes and freely shares Jewish texts in Hebrew and in translation. The Mishneh Torah, authored by Rambam (Maimonides) in the Medieval era, consists of

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Jewish Religion, USA

Yom Kippur is not a Biblical Holiday

As with Rosh Hashanah, Orthodox Jews like me recognize that Yom Kippur is not mentioned in the Bible. It replaces another day known as Yom Hakippurim, mentioned in the Bible in Leviticus 16:29–31, 23:27–32, and Numbers 29:7–11. Orthodox Jews follow the Oral Law, the ways that the rabbis interpreted the Torah. This can be called Rabbinical Judaism in contrast to Biblical Judaism. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

It’s Just Gold: Having Perspective on Idolatry and Materialism

By Kayla Swartzberg LA JOLLA, California — Take a second to look at the Second Commandment. It reads, “Thou shalt not make idols.” And I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Maybe once, maybe a thousand times. Our great rabbis, scholars, and sages tell us that the Torah is as relevant now as it was during

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion

Congregation Adat Yeshurun Grows Through Spiritual Connection, ‘Cohesive Diversity’

By Jacob Kamaras LA JOLLA, California — Amid a return to relative normalcy following two-and-a-half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congregation Adat Yeshurun of La Jolla is growing its community through what Rabbi Daniel Reich calls the “three Fs” — family, friends, and faith. “People are not feeling connected on a spiritual level and to

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Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Overcoming Obstacles to Honor a Father

From the time she was a child, author Sarah Birnbach always went to her father Marvin for comfort.  Her strained relationship with her mother permitted no such interaction.  When her father died, in some ways she felt like an orphan, even though her mother was still living.  There was no recognition on her mother’s part that Sarah was grieving too.  What would she know about loss, her mother would say, she wasn’t married for 54 years. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

Science AND Religion Needed for True Understanding of the World

Given our sophistication, what relevance does the birthday of man and creation have to do with scientific reality? Who are we fooling? What message might this holiday have for us as we enter the next millennia? How can you seriously believe that Adam and Eve were the first people ever to live on the earth? Or that “God made the world in just six 24-hr. days”? [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi