If readers of the Bible pay close attention to the verses that tell about events and laws, the reader will find that all the events and laws in the Torah are ambiguous or obscure. The following are some of the multiple examples of where the Bible is not clear. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Biblical ambiguities Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
A sincere group of people in the movie making industry felt the need to rekindle ties to their Jewish heritage. Aware they had a special talent and perspective to bring to religious worship and celebration of God, they formed their own synagogue up north in Los Angeles. They chose an ordained rabbi from the movie business who was a producer and scriptwriter to be their spiritual leader. He graduated from the same high school as myself, Thomas Jefferson in Brooklyn New York. [Ira Spector]
Entertaining God, Hollywood style Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire
This week’s portion is titled, Shoftim, which means Judges. The portion begins with the command to appoint judges in every city. In fact the portion commands that the Jewish people should appoint not only judges but officers as well. The purpose is to insure that law and order will prevail throughout the cities. A firm belief in the necessity of law in society is foundational within Judaism, for without law we are warned in the Talmud, “One man will consume his friend.” [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: Judges by our gates Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
This week’s Parsahah, Shoftim, is all about how to judge people and situations fairly. It is about choosing people to help make those judgements and what is needed to punish the people accused of crimes. The beginning of this section tells us, “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” Judges must judge fairly. There must be at least two witnesses to a crime and if the crime is serious enough, those witnesses are the first ones to punish the guilty person. But what if a witness lies? Once the lie is discovered, that witness will be punished instead. [Marcia Berneger]
Torah for Children: Justice, Justice shall you pursue! Read More »
Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger
The pandemic quarantine began in mid-March. One week later, my mother died in her sleep. She was 97 and lived in New York. I live in California. Our New York daughter “Zoomed” mom’s graveside funeral and we sat shiva online. So much of this time has been trying and sad. We miss our grandkids—even though we see them on FaceTime or Zoom almost every day. And we will forever regret not being able to say a proper good-bye to mom in person. [Irv Kass]
Daily Zoom shul-hopping to recite Kaddish Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Here are streaming lectures and programs of specific interest to the Jewish community from Sunday, Aug. 23 through Friday, Aug. 28 [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Streaming Jewish Programs, Aug. 23-28 Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Shoftim tells us, “When you besiege a city for an extended period, to make war against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field a man that you should besiege it?” The Ibn Ezra sees this as a statement, not a question, “Ki Haadam eitz hasadeh, the human being is a tree of the field.” He, like so many contemporary environmentalists, believes that we are intertwined with our environment. Destroy a tree, and we destroy ourselves. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]
Torah, environmentalism, and political leadership Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell
From this parasha, I have chosen four passages for comparison with texts from ancient Israel’s pagan neighbors, concerning capital punishment, codes of law, cities of refuge, unsolved murders [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]
Ancient practices: Capital punishment, codes of law, cities of refuge, unsolved murders Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish ReligionMany people who read or even carefully study the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, fail to pay attention to details and as a result they miss much that is in the Bible, the brilliant way that it is written, its poetry, its references to other incidences, its use of metaphor, and much more. The drama of Joseph and the number two is an example. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Use of ‘Two’ in the Joseph Drama Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionWe all know the saying, “Seeing is believing!” This means that there is nothing like witnessing something with one’s own eyes to make a dramatic impression. If I see something happen, I know it happened, and no one and nothing can convince me otherwise. I know what I saw. This would seem to be a greater level of internalizing outside stimuli than any other method. The Rebbe shares a remarkable explanation regarding hearing. When we hear something, meaning when a sound penetrates our minds to be analyzed and ultimately understood / grasped by our intellect, it can be a more profound experience than merely seeing something. At the end of the day seeing can fairly be described as a superficial experience whereas hearing is more internalized. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]
A Word of Torah: Experiencing HaShem with all our senses Read More »
Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi
Elul is the time to press reset, to clear the cache, reformat the hard drive. We blow the shofar every morning of the month in an attempt to awaken our souls from a tepid stupor of habit and mediocrity. We step out of our busy lives to figure out why we are living them. We can only set personal goals when we perceive the disparity between where we are and where we could be. Hopefully, we do this crucial work before we show up in the synagogue on the first of Tishrei (the first day of Rosh Hashana). Get an early start on t’shuva—that way, there’s still time for a rewrite if the first draft of our mission statement is lacking. Imagine hearing on a certain day in the future we can fill a basket with jewels from a king’s treasury. How exciting! It would be dumb to show up with a basket already full of junk, leaving no Room for the king’s gifts. Elul is the time to get priorities straight, clearing our basket so we can fill it with God’s light on Rosh Hashana. [Sam Glaser]
Elul: T’shuva – Masters of Return Read More »
Jewish Religion, Sam Glaser
Myriads of articles and books will be written on the life and legacy of Rav Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, who passed away on Friday, the 17th of Av, and was buried on Har Hazeitim – the Mount of Olives. The diversity of people who accompanied him to his final rest spoke to the miracles he accomplished in his lifetime. Once in a generation – if we’re lucky – are we to witness to the creation of such a vast body of Torah work by one person; he has revolutionized Jewish scholarship for hundreds of thousands – perhaps millions — of people, and for future generations. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who was a keynote speaker at a dinner in honor of the Rav in 2018, said, “He was trained as a scientist but has the soul of a poet.” [Toby Klein Greenwald]
A Torah giant, up close and personal Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, Toby Klein GreenwaldI have chosen four passages for comparison with texts from ancient Israel’s pagan neighbors dealing with curses, destruction of cities, false prophets, and rules for sacrifices. (Irv Jacobs, M.D.)
Ancient practices: Curses, burning cities, false prophets, rules for sacrifices Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish ReligionHere are streaming Jewish lectures from Sunday, Aug. 16 through Friday, Aug. 21. {Laurie Baron, Ph.D}
Streaming Jewish Lectures (Aug. 16- 21) Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA