Chabad SDSU menorah is restored
Chabad SDSU menorah is restored Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego CountyErik Ross As noted in my last post, Christians are in the midst of Lent — the annual 40-day season of penance in preparation for Easter. We focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In Poland as in Jerusalem, we meditate with special attention on the mystery and the scandal of the Cross. In song and
Don’t say that Hebrew word! Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — Moshe faced a monumental and daunting task: the building of the Mishkan (the portable tabernacle). Enormous amounts of gold, silver, and bronze had to be procured and fashioned. Many varieties of dyed wool, linen, goat hair and ram skins needed to be processed according to complicated and intricate
Weekly Torah portion: Vayakhel Read More »
Jewish ReligionHistoric Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia vandalized This new wave of anti-Semitism, delivered via bomb threats, cemetery vandalisms, swastika desecrations, and specific acts of violence, reawakens an old and bittersweet mantra in every Jewish soul: we are as vulnerable as we are enduring. I remember: somebody once wrote me a nasty letter after something I circulated
“Yes, call me a Jew” Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish ReligionLOS ANGELES (Press Release) — — A new Passover Haggadah is being distributed by StandWithUs, an international Israel education organization, that emphasizes not only the themes of slavery and freedom but also underscores Jews’ 3,000-year-long connection to their ancestral homeland, Israel. The Haggadah, From Ancient Egypt to Modern Israel, is the brainchild of StandWithUs co-founder and COO, Jerry Rothstein. “According to a
StandWithUs publishes modern Israel Haggadah Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USATwo new Torah scrolls donated to Prague’s Great Synagogue were inaugurated on Sunday during a festive ceremony. This is the first time since World War II that the Prague Jewish community received new Torah scrolls. During the Holocaust, Prague’s large Jewish community was almost completely wiped out: Prior to World War II, 125,000 Jews lived
Prague synagogue gets two new Torah scrolls Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle EastWhite House special envoy Jason Greenblatt met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for three hours Thursday evening, the second time the two had face-to-face talks since Greenblatt arrived in Israel for a fact-finding mission earlier this week. Greenblatt also met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin this week, and traveled to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian
When the White House envoy made a minyan with the Prime Minister Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USAWhat could be wrong? It’s kosher! By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO –“They rose early in the morning and they offered burnt offerings, then they offered peace offerings. Then the nation sat down to eat and drink and performed idol worship.” (Exodus 32:6) Worship a golden calf?! How could such a thing happen? After witnessing
Weekly Torah portion: Ki Sissa Read More »
Jewish ReligionCommentators on social media wondered why White House special envoy Jason Greenblat did not wear a kippah (a Jewish skullcap) during his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday. Orthodox Jewish men traditionally wear kippot. Greenblat studied at the Har Etzion yeshiva and attended Yeshiva University. He is a successful and respected lawyer and lives
Where is the kippah? There is an answer Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USACanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said, “Tomorrow at sunset, Jewish communities in Canada and around the world will join together to celebrate Purim. “Purim is a joyous holiday where loved ones wear costumes, exchange gifts, give to charity, and partake in traditional feasts. “During this time, friends and family will come together to
Trudeau wishes Jews a happy Purim Read More »
International, Jewish ReligionBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Tucked away in a quiet Jerusalem side-street is the Leo Baeck Institute, where activities associated with the man himself and various aspects of his heritage are held, its official purpose being ‘the study of German and Central European Jewry.’ Sister institutes are to be found in cities elsewhere
Leo Baeck and Jewish liberalism Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO –The Mishkan (the portable Tabernacle) was built to be a place where G-d could dwell, presenting a more concentrated manifestation of Himself than He emanated to the rest of the world. It was the place where the people could go, with the proper preparation, to communicate with G-d with
Weekly Torah portion: Tetzaveh Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Joel H. Cohen NEW YORK — There may be more pressing reasons for concern out there, but right now we’re grappling with what to wear Purim night. If you think of the Megillah-reading as the Academy Awards, then you can logically regard the stairs or the pathway leading to the shul as the
‘Who’ are you wearing at the Purim party? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & SatireTextual Tapestries: Explorations of the Five Megillot by Gabriel H Cohn (Translated from the Hebrew by David Strauss), Maggid Books, New Milford, CT, © 2016, ISBN 978-1-59264-398-1, p. 433, $29.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – The Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, is divided into three broad sections: Torah, the Five Books of Moses; Nevi’im, the prophets;
Five megillot are examined in ‘Textual Tapestries’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion