Terumah – Enjoying to Eat or Eating to Enjoy By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — Terumah is the first of the tithes that are taken by a farmer from his crops that are grown in Israel. The farmer separates from his produce a portion between one-sixtieth and one-fortieth and gives it to a Kohen […]
Weekly Torah portion: Emor Read More »
Jewish ReligionBelgian cabinet minister and animal welfare minister Ben Weyts on Tuesday called for a complete ban on the ritual slaughter of animals. The decision will have a huge impact on the Muslim and Orthodox Jewish communities, for whom shechita (ritual slaughter) is an integral component of religious life. Weyts, who is a member of the
Belgian Minister: Time to ban ritual slaughter Read More »
International, Jewish Religion
-57th in a Series- Exit 27, Dunbar Lane, Harbison Canyon, California By Donald H. Harrison HARBISON CANYON, California – In this small community in the back country of San Diego County, the 4Ms of the Stroh family—Marty, Melissa, Mason and Max—are known for keeping the flame of Judaism burning bright inside their home, and for
I-8 Jewish Travel: Flames of love and destruction Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Travel and FoodTorah and Western Thought: Intellectual Portraits of Orthodoxy and Modernity by Rabbi Dr. Meir Y. Soloveichik, Dr. Stuart W. Halpern, and Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier, editors, Magid Books, New Milford, Connecticut; ISBN 978-1-59264-436-0©2015, $29.95, p. 313, plus index and appendix By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California–Over its nearly 5,000 years of existence, Judaism has struggled with
Jewish Orthodoxy and the modern world Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
SAN FRANCISCO, California (Press Release)– Building on the global success and momentum of Character Day 2015, in which hundreds of thousands participated and viewed the films The Making of a Mensch and The Adaptable Mind, Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tiffany Shlain’s nonprofit Let it Ripple this year will broaden the initiative’s reach that uses film and discussion
Character Day 2016 will be September 22 Read More »
Jewish Religion, The World We Share, USA
Jewish upbringing helped celebrated deaf actress break barriers to success Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin said the best thing to do for people “who have special needs is to communicate with them.” Marlee Matlin and actor Henry Winkler, a longtime friend and mentor, at the Walk of Fame Ceremony honoring Matlin in Hollywood, May 6, 2009;
‘Healing the world’ is Marlee Matlin’s matter Read More »
Jewish Religion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAI Can’t Wait By Rabbi Yaakov Marks SAN DIEGO — “And when you come to the land, you will plant all types of fruit trees. For three years the fruit will be prohibited; in the fourth year it will be sanctified to praise G-d, and in the fifth year and from then on you may
Weekly Torah Portion: Kedoshim Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — This week we read parashat K’doshim. K’doshim means: “holiness.” K’doshim contains laws and instructions to follow if we desire to be holy and Godly human beings. K’doshim contains a verse that, at first glance, does not make sense: “You shall each revere his mother and his father,
Why honoring parents and observing Shabbat are linked Read More »
Jewish Religion
Over 20 feet wide, the mural hanging from the ceiling of Burlington, Vermont’s Ohavi Zedek Synagogue is a survivor in multiple senses. Painted by a Lithuanian immigrant in 1910, it is a rare example of the wall paintings that once adorned the wooden synagogues of Eastern Europe that were destroyed in the Holocaust. “There is
Vermont Jews rescue ‘Lost Shul Mural’ Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, USAThe National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory against Israelis visiting Tunisia on Monday, ahead of an expected Lag B’Omer festivities to be held May 25-26 in Ghriba, on the island of Djerba. “There is a severe travel warning for Tunisia (high concrete threat),” the Bureau said. “Terrorist elements, especially those affiliated with
Israel warns against Lag B’Omer travel to Tunisia Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
Most Israeli Jews support increased Jewish pluralism in Israel, and are in favor of the right to freedom of marriage, a survey released on Sunday found. The poll, published by The Jewish People Policy Institute, found that more than 60 percent of Israeli Jews back the legalization of civil marriages in the country. Over 80%
Most Israeli Jews support Jewish pluralism Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
By Raphael Poch JERUSALEM– Each year over 300,000 people from across the country descend upon the small town of Meron for a yearly pilgrimage on the 33rd day of the Omer, known as the holiday of La’g Ba’omer. The sheer amount of visitors to the town’s holy site, the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai,
First response team prepares for Lag B’Omer pilgrimage Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Two years ago my congregation embarked on a grand experiment. Instead of “charging” for synagogue membership we changed to a free will donation system we call T’rumah. T’rumah has been a success, although a qualified success. Many of our members chose to increase or maintain their previous membership gift
T’rumah–or free will donations–support synagogue Read More »
Jewish ReligionTel Aviv (dpa) – Fifty Holocaust survivors who never got to celebrate their Jewish coming-of-age ritual because of the horrors of World War II got a chance to do so Monday in Jerusalem. The bat mitzvah and bar mitzvah – the first for girls, the second for boys – is typically performed when the child
Belated b’nai mitzvahs at Kotel for Shoah survivors Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East