By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — In parashat Eikev, Moses succinctly summarizes God’s demands of us: “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the Lord your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with […]
Fearing and revering God Read More »
Jewish ReligionThe heads of the haredi parties, Ministers Arye Deri (Shas), Yaakov Litzman (UTJ), and MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ) sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening, bearing an ultimatum: gives us our Shabbat, or we take your coalition. Haredi MKs have been in an uproar these past few days over the
Haredi ultimatum: Our shabbat, or your coalition Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastLAKEWOOD, Pennsylvania — There was a time when you couldn’t get kosher sushi or iced coffee while at sleepaway camp. But most campers don’t remember those dark days. “No sushi?” asked Yael, a 13-year-old camper from Camp Lavi in Lakewood, Pennsylvania. “How’d you survive?” Welcome to the Pocono Mountains, home to approximately 50 sleepaway camps
A kosher corner for campers in Lake Como, PA Read More »
Jewish Religion, USAAround 30 people from the New York area attended the funeral of a woman they never met, after a rabbi’s daughter posted of her plight on Facebook. Francis Stein, 83, was buried on Wednesdsay in the Jewish cemetery in the town of Bluwalt, in Rockland County. Ora Weinbach, a high school teacher in New Jersey,
30 attend stranger’s funeral in New York Read More »
Jewish Religion, USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — The Bible warned the soldiers about a captive woman. I think a lot about a distressed woman in the Bible who has no name, no known community, and not much hope. She is described in the Book of Deuteronomy as “a captive lady,”—she is a prisoner of war. Her
Do not dishonor the female captive Read More »
Jewish ReligionOne generation from now, it may be impossible to hear firsthand stories of the Holocaust. Seventy-one years after the end of World War II, there’s a growing urgency to preserve the stories of survivors. A new museum in Brooklyn is trying to do just that. But the Amud Aish Holocaust Museum and Memorial is a
Brooklyn’s first Holocaust museum isn’t about death. It’s about Jewish religious life. Read More »
International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USABy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — One of the less laudatory traditions of our political system is elected officials “rewarding” their friends and supporters with appointments to positions such as ambassadorships, judgeships, and other offices. While the appointees may be well-qualified, they are not always the most qualified person for that position. In parashat
What Midrash would say about the U.S. Supreme Court Read More »
Jewish Religion, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — So long as the Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel act as though they are the only true Jewish leaders, I think rebuilding the Temple would only serve to divide and not unite the Jewish people. With a fractured Jewish polity, what good would rebuilding the Temple be if
On Tisha B’Av, let’s also remember R. Yohanan Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiFor the second year, ahead of Tisha B’Av, President Reuven Rivlin today (Thursday) hosted at his residence, a study session which brought together different streams of the Jewish community. The event, which focused on ‘Remembering Jerusalem’, was held by the President’s Office in partnership with the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). Tisha B’Av is a
President Rivlin marks Tisha B’Av with a study session at home Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
“We’ll Sing and Dance To the Sky, With Our Spirits So High” By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO–With chaos, conflict and confusion so continually evident in our lives more and more, how can anyone find peace these days? “Shabbat can do that.” That’s the inspirational mantra Shabbat San Diego 2016 begins and ends its
Shabbat San Diego weekend set for Nov. 10-12 Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, San Diego Calendar, San Diego CountyBy Rabbi Ben Kamin OCEANSIDE, California — When Khizr Khan, the brave and dignified Muslim father whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, gave his life fighting for this country in Iraq, Mr. Khan challenged Donald Trump: “Have you ever even read the Constitution of the United States?” Khan said more in his grieving and passionate words
Khizr Khan also illuminated Hebrew Scripture Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USAMinister of Education Naftali Bennet announced on Sunday this year’s winners of the Education Minister’s Prize for Jewish Culture in the field of literature: Haim Sabato and Sarah Friedland. The committee responsible for electing the winners wrote of Sabato: “His work […] reveals the world of the Sephardic traditions of Torah – in which sharpness
Winners of Jewish Culture Prize for literature announced Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Middle EastHidden beneath the surface of Parshat Pinchas, the sages uncovered a story of great poignancy. Moses, having seen his sister and brother die, knew that his own time on earth was coming to a close. He prayed to God to appoint a successor: “May the Lord, God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a
Moses’ disappointment Read More »
Jewish ReligionMembers of the burial society that arranged the funeral of former Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, who died in 2008, revealed this week that they said a secret “Kaddish” prayer over his body, despite his son (now MK) Yair Lapid’s request that they not do so during the funeral. The Kaddish prayer is traditionally said over
The secret Kaddish for Tommy Lapid Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East