Jewish Religion

Book prompts Jewish rationalism vs. mysticism debate

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Maimonides: Between Philosophy and Halakhah: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Lectures on the Guide of the Perplexed is interesting because it shows the basic ideas of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s thinking. But readers should not suppose that they will gain an insight into the teachings of Maimonides or even some […]

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

Young Israel sponsors ‘Health through Torah’ programs

  SAN DIEGO  (Press Release) — The World Health Organization reports that in 2019 more than 141 million children will be born: 73 million boys and 68 million girls. Based on recent mortality risks the boys will live, on average, 69.8 years and the girls 74.2 years. What’s this have to do with a synagogue-based,

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, San Diego Calendar, Science, Medicine, & Education

Weekly Torah portion: Naso

By Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO — Our Torah portion this week, Naso, describes the somewhat unusual lifestyle choices of a Nazarite. A Nazarite takes a vow of holiness, abstains from drinking alcohol, cutting his hair, and coming into contact with the dead. The vow is for a predetermined finite amount of time. Through abstaining

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Jewish Religion

Biblical Exodus inspires ‘Journey to Freedom’ oratorio

By Eileen Wingard ALISO VIEJO, California — The manuscript of Journey to Freedom languished for decades at the bottom of a pile of Dr. Bernard “Barney” Gilmore’s scores. It was not until after UC Irvine Music Faculty Professor Gilmore’s death, that his wife, while organizing his music for the archives at the UC Irvine Library,

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Kabbalah as explained by quantum physics

From Infinity to Man by Eduard Shyfrin, White Raven Publishing, © 2019, ISBN 978-1-911195-84-9, p. 122 plus notes and index, $24.99. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Kabbalah is esoteric Judaism, the mystical traditions handed down orally through the generations. Yet, Kabbalah is not a monolith, its concepts and structures evolve. In the introduction to

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion

How a Jewish tale differs from others

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are many instances where both Jews and non-Jews tell stories with some variations on the same plot. In many of these instances, the Jewish version attempts to use its version to teach Jews proper behavior. The following is an example. Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving (1783-1859)

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

Those of Jewish blood quite populous

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin  BOCA RATON, Florida — Most people are convinced that there are comparatively few Jews in the world, only about 13.3 million in 2001, about 1.4 percent of the world population.  Of these 4.9 million lived in Israel and 8.3 million outside the Holy Land. Logic would dictate that the actual

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International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA