Tzarat was a consequence of numerous sins, most prominent of them was Lashon Harah – evil gossip. Interestingly, the person suffering from Tzarat was placed into quarantine, not so that the disease wouldn’t spread, but instead to demonstrate to the person with the disease that his anti-social behavior resulted in an anti-social situation. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
Receiving Direct Feedback from Hashem Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
A Concise Guide to the Sages is made up of five parts. The first 271 pages of the 511-page volume focuses on the more than fifty weekly biblical portions of the Five Books of Moses which Jews read in synagogues and which many Jews study at home. Virtually all of the sayings of the Sages quoted in this section are midrashic (ideas derived from the biblical text which are not explicit in the text). {Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin}
Steinsaltz’s Sage Book on the Sages Read More »
Jewish Religion
Editor’s Note: In celebration of Israel’s 73rd birthday today, Nicky Blackburn of Israel21c.org compiled 73 fun facts about Israel:
73 Fun Facts About Israel Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food, Trivia, Humor & Satire
This laconic, short, prose, exaggerated sequence of events is attributed to the time of Aram’s attack on the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) during the brief rule of Israelite King Joram (851-842 BCE). A key figure was the prophet Elisha. [Irv Jacobs, MD]
Haftorah Reading for April 17, 2021 Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
We learn in this week’s reading to see the potential for extending our own community to include those ill in body, mind, or spirit, and are charged with fully welcoming them back after whatever diagnosis and treatment they receive for the “disease,” that does not, after all, alter their essential humanity. The Torah directs us to welcome and comfort the afflicted instead of solely expelling them. [Michael R. Mantell, PhD]
Recovering and allowing others to recover Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
A lawsuit filed in a San Diego Superior Court has significant implications for churches, synagogues, mosques and temples across the country. [Stephen D. Bryen]
Suit Against Chabad of Poway Should Caution All Religious Institutions Read More »
Jewish Religion, Stephen D. Bryen, USA
Boris Volynov was first among approximately 19 Jews who have flown in space, serving as a Russian cosmonaut in 1969. Thereafter, Judy Resnik, Ilan Ramon and Gregory Chamitoff joined him in an exclusive club, being the first Jews from their nations to go into space. Resnik was from the United States, Ramon from Israel, and Chamitoff from Canada. These were among the factoids presented by Roger Weiss, a contractor on the International Space Station (ISS) program, in a Zoom program sponsored on Sunday, March 11, by the San Diego Outreach Synagogue. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Jews in Space’ Lecture Filled with Anecdotes Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA
An attorney representing Chabad of California said Friday the organization “feels terrible” for the victims of the 2019 Chabad of Poway shooting but has “no control” over the local synagogue’s security, in response to a lawsuit filed against the synagogue and the state Chabad organization for alleged insufficient security measures. [Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego]
Chabad of California: ‘No Control’ Over Poway Chabad’s Security Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego CountyMaggid Books has published a new five-volume series by the recently deceased scholar Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz that inform readers in easy to read English of the fundamentals of Judaism. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Steinsaltz’s Posthumous Introduction to Judaism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
The Passover 2019 attack on Chabad of Poway in which congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye was murdered and three other persons were wounded has prompted a pair of criminal cases and a civil case in its wake, while a fourth criminal case involving tax fraud proceeds in federal court. [Donald H. Harrison]
Another Shoe May Drop in Chabad of Poway Case Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, USA
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, scores zero for two so far on the facts. She falsely claims that Sunday is the Sabbath besides Saturday and, far more importantly, that our civil rights revolve around religious beliefs. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Senator forgets Constitution prohibits favoring any religion Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Jewish Religion, USAThe parasha presents us with the abrupt, heart-rending, seemingly inexplicable loss, the passing of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu. We read in the parasha (10:1-2), “And Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his pan, put fire in them, and placed incense upon it, and they brought before the Lord foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Accepting that God’s Will Is for the Good Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael MantellVirtually the entire Bible is either obscure or ambiguous. This not a criticism. Some scholars and I have noted that all very good literature is obscure or ambiguous. This enhances what is written. It gives the reader an opportunity to interpret what is being read. It is as if there are two writers of what is written both the original author and the reader. As a result, the reader gets more out of the writing than the writer composed. In addition, in regard to biblical law, it gives the religious leaders of the Jews an opportunity to reinterpret the obscurity to correspond to modern times [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Tower of Babel ‘Trial’ Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionWe are in the home stretch! Most of Passover is already behind us. Yet we contemplate the final part of the “King of the Holidays,” which also coincides with the holy Shabbos. Here, in the Diaspora, we celebrate and observe Passover for eight days, as opposed to Israel where it is celebrated for seven days. The Promised Land has a superior level of ‘organic’ holiness. The Sages found a way to somewhat compensate for that by adding an extra day of holiness outside the borders of Israel. Therefore, instead of having a single, climax-of-the-holiday day, we have two. One additional day of mundanity transformed into a day of holiness (nothing to sniff at). [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: The Final Day(s) of Passover Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi