Orthodox Jewish residents of the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn were shocked to discover in recent days that a newly established eruv had been destroyed. The eruv itself had elicited a greal of controversy, dividing the neighborhoods Chabad population with the growing modern Orthodox community. In late June, local Chabad rabbis issued an edict declaring […]
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Jewish Religion, USAIsraeli NBA player Omri Casspi joins the list of Israeli celebrities publicly displaying their ties to Judaism and Jewish practice. Omri Casspi praying Screenshot/Instagram Casspi posted a picture to his Instagram account in which he is seen wearing Tefilin and a Tallit (prayer shawl), and praying in the morning sunlight. In the caption to the
NBA’s Omri Casspi gushes about meeting with rabbi Read More »
Jewish Religion, Sports & CompetitionsHukat | Numbers 19:1-22:1 The mystery of death and the meaning behind the mystery have been central concerns of every religious tradition. This week’s portion includes a detailed description of a now-obsolete rite known as the ritual of the red heifer. This practice was intended to accomplish ritual purification for anyone who had had contact
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Jewish ReligionJERUSALEM (Press Release) — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Shalom Hartman Institute are pleased to welcome the 23 prominent North American Christian leaders that will comprise Cohort V of the Christian Leadership Initiative (CLI), an intensive 13-month educational program on Judaism, a partnership of AJC and the Hartman Institute in Israel. The program begins
Christian scholars undertake 13- month Judaism study Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — More than fifty-two years ago, a Dallas businessman named Abraham Zapruder unwittingly filmed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The 26.6 seconds of silent color 8mm imagery would remain the most examined film in history for decades. When it was eventually shown on television to the American
Don’t the dead deserve some privacy? Read More »
Jewish Religion, USAExcavations at a late-Roman era synagogue in the Galilee have unearthed more staggering mosaics depicting biblical scenes, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced this week. The ongoing dig at the 5th-century CE Huqoq Synagogue has previously uncovered brilliant floors featuring people, beasts and heroes from antiquity never before seen in ancient Jewish
Noah’s Ark, splitting of Red Sea appear in newfound mosaic at ancient synagogue Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Judaism has always encouraged diversity of opinion among its adherents. Historically, it has been those who have insisted on unanimity of belief who have ended up on the defensive. However, the motivation of those who hold diverse opinions has always been subject to scrutiny. In putting forward differing
How a dispute can better the community Read More »
Jewish ReligionConservative and Reform Jews held a mixed-gender egalitarian service at the Western Wall plaza on Thursday amid jeering from a handful of protesters but few other disturbances. The organizers said they complied with an attorney general order not to pray at the site and held a singing and dancing service instead. “It passed totally quietly,”
Despite heckles, pluralistic services at Western Wall pass ‘quietly’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastStrains of the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah” overpowered the sounds of morning rush hour as some 200 protesters demonstrated outside the Supreme Rabbinical Court at the entrance to Jerusalem on Wednesday morning. The protest was organized by former students of New York Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the former principal of the Ramaz High School and spiritual
The rate of intermarriage in the UK has reached more than one in four, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research. The report, titled “Jews in Couples: Marriage, Intermarriage, Cohabitation and Divorce in Britain,” offers both positive and negative approaches towards the issue. On one hand, it shows that Jews are accepted in the
More than one in four UK Jews now intermarried Read More »
International, Jewish Religion
NEW YORK (Press Release)–As a scientist, educator, and one of seven children raised in a close African American Jewish family in upstate New York, Rabbi Deborah McKenzie fulfills her childhood dream to become a spiritual leader, and shepherds summer Ma’ariv Monday services for Sim Shalom, the online synagogue, to refresh spirituality each week. (Sim Shalom
Graduate of one-year rabbinical program leads services on the web Read More »
Jewish Religion, USAThe brouhaha surrounding the recognition of Ivanka Trump’s conversion to Judaism by Israel may be nearing it’s end. Trump, the daughter of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, converted to Judaism under the auspices of Orthodox Rabbi Haskel Lookstein. Recently, it was announced that a Rabbinical Court in Israel had ruled that Rabbi Lookstein’s conversions are
Chief Rabbi Lau: Ivanka Trump conversion legitimate Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USABy Donald H. Harrison POWAY, California – For my always-on-the-go grandson Sky, 9, there were plenty of activities to keep him un-bored in the hours leading up to the July 4 fireworks. Not only was there a jump house, but there also were games and competitions organized for his age group. By the time the
4th of July: Activities and Jewish American reflections Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, USABy Cynthia Citron HOLLYWOOD — The play has such a despicable name that you would think it would attract every neo-Nazi, Aryan Nation, Skinheaded anti-Semite in southern California. The play is called Bad Jews. But, surprisingly, playwright Joshua Harmon’s four-person diatribe is actually a perceptive reflection of the way in which many modern Jews relate
‘Bad Jews’ depicts split between religious and secular Read More »
Cynthia Citron, Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast