By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — In the last couple of weeks there has hardly been a lamp post or a bus shelter in Jerusalem – and probably elsewhere in Israel – that hasn’t been covered with offers of pre-Pesach home cleaning. Even yeshiva students, normally not associated with physical (or perhaps any other) work, […]
As Pesach approaches, Israel has Obsessive Cleaning Disorder Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — Passover is the best gift we ever gave to the world; nobody who was ever a human being could turn down its message of freedom, its transformation of the taste of tears into the wine of hope, its view of the leaves of parsley as the springtime of
An ode to Passover Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–Toward the beginning of the Passover Seder we hold up our plate of matzah and recite: “This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat!” On Tuesday students from our Community Jewish High were blessed with
Teens help feed the hungry through Hand Up organization Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–Hashem orchestrates the world and takes care of us in amazing unexpected ways. He showers us with blessings. We need to be able to accept those brachos (blessings), as the following story illustrates: (continued from last week) Mendel excused himself and asked his wife to join him in the next
Yossi and Sheindel — how it all turned out Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Judy Lash Balint JERUSALEM–Citizens of southern Israel face the prospect of yet another Passover under fire. The barrage of missiles and rockets on our southern cities and surrounding western Negev kibbutzim is almost taken for granted by the international community as they prefer to focus on whether a few hundred more apartments are being
18 Ways To Know Passover is Coming in Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Travel and FoodBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO, April 7 – Fueled by kosher pizza, members and guests of the Tifereth Israel Men’s Club participated Thursday night in a ceremony that was both solemn and light-hearted: the packing of yellow candles for congregants to light at their homes the evening of April 30, Erev Yom Hashoah – the evening
Somber yet light-hearted workers pack candles for Shoah rite Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — The Torah portions of Tazria and Metzora describe in detail, the procedure followed by a Kohain when he examines a person for tzaraas, a leprosy-like disease. One of the guidelines a Kohain utilizes while checking out a person’s skin, is the fact that every hair on the human
Yossi and Sheindel—a match, or not? Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Current events invite consideration of a prayer said by religious Jews three times each day. The subject of Richard Goldstone came up in a conversation with a religious friend, and he responded with the opening of the 12th chapter of the Amidah. וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה The first word (malshinim) may be
How Judaism views Jewish slanderers Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO –On Wednesday evening I returned from attending this year’s Rabbinical Assembly International Convention. For the first time, this annual gathering of Conservative-Masorti rabbis took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the convention was held in the suburb of Summerlin in a quiet hotel far from the famed Las Vegas
Rabbinic impressions of Las Vegas Read More »
Jewish Religion
Beginnings: The First Love, the First Hate, the First Dream… Reflections on the Bible’s Intriguing Firsts by Meir Shalev, Translated from the Hebrew by Stuart Schoffman, Harmony Books, New York; ISBN 978-0-037-71718-4 ©2011, $25.00, 295 pages By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California– Americans relish someone accomplishing something first! Do you remember who flew the first airplane? How
Witty book examines ‘firsts’ in the Bible Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–The Talmud’s words: “I have learned from all of my students” certainly holds true for me. On Tuesday evening my eighth grade class at our Community Jewish High School was studying an ancient aphorism quoted in the Talmud: “When we were young, [we were treated] like grown-ups; now that we
Beware misconceptions about the young — and the old Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman JERUSALEM — The Torah details the regulations and specifications of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) which was a precursor to the Bais Hamikdash (Holy Temple) in the Jerusalem. Hashem gave us special Mitzvos to be done in the land of Israel, as well as the ability to carry out those mitzvos as the
Shemittah paid off for observant potato growers Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–When most Jews hear the words, “Remember – do not forget!” they think of the Holocaust. Survivors and members of the Jewish community recite these words as an oath to the six million Jews who perished during the Shoah. We pledge not only to remember them and preserve their Jewish
Haman, Hitler, and modern Amalekites Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion