Jewish Religion Archives - Page 147 of 286

Berkeley professor translates the Bible anew

March 30, 2019

Story by Donald H. Harrison; photos by Shor M. Masori BERKELEY, California – For some two dozen years, Dr. Robert Alter, now a professor emeritus of comparative literature at UC Berkeley, retranslated various portions of the Hebrew Bible. He was distressed that most previous translations “were not only deficient, but I would say that they […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Shor M. Masori

A Passover story for young readers

March 29, 2019

Can’t Start Passover without the Bread by Leba Lieder and Israel Drazin; © 2013; ISBN 9781481-995467; 30 pages, available via Amazon. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Our columnist, Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin, and his schoolteacher daughter Leba Lieder, created this storybook for children between the ages of 4 and 8. It is a

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Travel and Food

Weekly Torah portion: Shemini

March 29, 2019

By Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO –In our Torah portion this week, Shemini, we read what is considered by the Talmud to be the epicenter of the Torah. According to the Talmud, if you count up all of the letters in the Torah, we find ourselves in this week’s Torah reading, on the Hebrew letter

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Jewish Religion, Travel and Food

OpEd: Democrats should do tshuvah

March 28, 2019

LOS ANGELES – It has always been accepted that this nation was founded on a code of Judeo-Christian ethics and that our founding fathers recognized the importance of spiritual practices as a basis for moral behavior. But it sadly seems that the current leadership of the Democratic Party needs a reminder in basic ethical behavior.

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Jewish Religion, USA

OpEd: Court ruling affects Jewish preschools

March 27, 2019

By Ryan C. McKim LOS ANGELES — In a remarkable opinion, a California appellate court held that the “ministerial exception” – a constitutionally based defense to employment claims brought against religious organizations – does not apply to religious school teachers. The “ministerial exception” is intended to ensure the autonomy of religions to select and control those

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Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Post- secular Judaism emerges in Israel

March 25, 2019

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Last December, not long before the date of the next general election in Israel was announced, the two stars of Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home), Naftali Bennett (the minister of education) and Ayelet Shaked (the minister of justice) left that political party to form a new one called, Hayamin Hechadash

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

The Haggadah seen through mystical eyes

March 24, 2019

Faith and Freedom, a commentary on the Haggadah based on the teachings of Eliezer Berkovits By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Hungarian-born scholar Eliezer Berkovits (1908-1992) was a highly respected Orthodox rabbi. He was educated in Berlin, Germany, where he received his PhD. He authored 19 books in several languages. He held

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

Weekly Torah portion: Tzav

March 22, 2019

By Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO –In our Torah portion this week, Tzav , the priests are instructed how to perform their sacrificial duties. In verse five, they are told that the fire on the altar needs to always be kept burning and that it must never be extinguished. Nevertheless, we are told again, in verse six,

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Jewish Religion

The wisdom of Rav. Kook

March 22, 2019

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Even rationalists like me can read, enjoy, and learn from the writings of mystics. We do not have to accept everything they say as being true, but there are things they say which are true. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook [1] was born in Latvia in

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Esther never fasted on the Fast of Esther

March 20, 2019

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The holiday of Purim is observed today with a fast day called the “Fast of Esther” that precedes it on 13 Adar. Some Jews observe the fast day from morning until sundown. It does not begin the night before as Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, and

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Just What the Doctor Ordered: Moti’s Purim Story

March 19, 2019

(c) By Leba Lieder and Israel Drazin Page 1 The Purim holiday was around the corner and kids and mice everywhere were preparing their costumes and getting ready to give Purim gifts. Moti, a special mouse, wondered if he could find a Purim gift to give to someone. Page 2 As much as it was

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

Queen Esther inspired many midrashim

March 17, 2019

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — In my book, Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith, I showed that Judith, in the apocrypha, the book Jewish ancestors decided not to include in the Bible, was more observant of Jewish practices than Ruth and Esther. The rabbis did not see this in this

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

The Zohar’s linkage of Purim and Yom Kippur

March 15, 2019

By Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO — This coming week, we will be celebrating the holiday of Purim. According to the the Jewish mystical work the Zohar, in the world to come, Purim will be one of only two holidays that is still celebrated – the other one is Yom Kippur. At first glance, it

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