By Garry Fabian MELBOURNE, Australia — Every year for times immemorial one of the features of a Seder is the parting of the seas, when the Children of Israel left Egypt. One year our Seder also featured the seas, but with a difference. We were on a cruise on the Queen Mary 2, sailing from Melbourne, […]
On that Passover, Jews went over the Sea Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO—Many Bar and Bat Mitzvah students suffer from PBL (Post Bar/Bat Mitzvah Letdown) after their simcha. They spend many months, if not years, preparing for their special day and approach it with excitement and anticipation. The day after the service, however, their excitement disappears and they feel a void in
A cure for post- Bar/Bat Mitzvah letdown? Read More »
Jewish ReligionTEL AVIV (Press Release)- White City Shabbat has announced that it will be setting the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Shabbat Dinner set to take place in June 2014, at the Hangar 11, Tel Aviv Port. In order to break the record, at least 1,000 Israelis and new immigrants must attend the dinner.
Tel Aviv to seek Shabbat dinner guest record Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Pesach is just around the corner. As we do our Pesach shopping and preparations, here is a nice story to keep in mind: Rabbi Yosef Charif of Slonim was known for his sharpness and insight. Every year as Pesach approached, he received a multitude of queries concerning the
The Wise Rabbi and the Passover Turnabout Read More »
Jewish Religion
CHICAGO, Illinois (Press Release) — The Central Conference of American Rabbis will honor Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., at the Crown Family Symposium on Rabbinic Leadership on Monday, March 31, 2014, as part of the 125th annual CCAR Convention, in Chicago. The CCAR is the representative organization of nearly 2,000 Reform rabbis, the world’s largest group
CCAR to honor HUC-JIR’s Rabbi David Ellenson Read More »
Jewish Religion, USA
HARTFORD, Connecticut (Press Release)– Trinity College professors Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar are embarking on an online national survey of Jewish university and college students. This large-scale study is a follow-up to their 2013 online national survey of the worldviews and opinions of all American college students. The focus on college students differentiates the Trinity
Professors to survey Jewish college students Read More »
Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–Are all jokes about Jews inherently anti-Semitic? I suppose to some extent that depends upon who is telling them. When Jews tell derogatory jokes about Jews, it is from the perspective of insiders poking fun at themselves. However, when a non-Jew tells the same joke it is offensive and racist.
Some Purim thoughts on anti- Semitism Read More »
Jewish Religion
GENEVA (Press Release)– The World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Wednesday called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to recognize as violations of religious freedom any bans or limitations on the right to practice Jewish and Muslim ritual slaughter of animals and male circumcision. “We call on the governments of all UN member states to
WJC seeks UN protection for shechita, brit milah Read More »
International, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–The members of the Israeli government, whether secular or Orthodox, don’t seem to pay much attention to the Reform and Conservative (Progressive) movements in Israel. If these seek evidence of recognition, they normally only get it through the courts, and even then it takes the government a long time to obey
Progressive Jews face Israeli apathy, hostility Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
By Josh Hasten/JNS.org In time for Purim 2014, popular Israeli-Canadian singer and composer Naftali Kalfa seeks to give everyday relevance to the Jewish holiday’s age-old story with his recently released single “Miracles.” Written by Kalfa, and recorded alongside well-known Israeli singer Gad Elbaz and Jewish reggae singer-songwriter Ari Lesser, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, “Miracles”
Canadian-Israeli a top exponent of Jewish music Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Judy Lash Balint/JNS.org JERUSALEM– Israelis take Purim seriously—kids get the day off school, many towns put on a lively Purim parade, and the streets are filled with people of all ages running about in costumes, delivering mishloach manot baskets of prepared food goodies to their friends and neighbors before sitting down to the
Israeli poor get lots of attention at Purim Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Cantor Sheldon Merel SAN DIEGO — I clearly remember the Seders I attended at the home of relatives during my Hebrew school days. I was proud to chant the “Ma Nishtana” and sing along in Hebrew. The group would sing the songs they knew, but talked most of the time. The conversation was not
Memories of seders past Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Loren Kantor STUDIO CITY, California –My paternal grandfather was a Torah scribe. He spent his days carefully drawing the Hebrew letters that made up the Torah, the most sacred of Jewish texts. Writing on thin parchment paper made from the skin of a kosher animal, he began by carefully marking thin pencil lines that
Tales of the Woodcutter: The Torah Scribe Read More »
Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
By Ozzie Nogg OMAHA, Nebraska — Pesach is coming, so make sure to kasher your water. In his coverage of the Middle East peace process, freelance journalist Andy Rowell writes, “As much as the conflict between Israel and Palestine is about religion and access to land, it is also about resources and who controls those
Should your water be kashered for Pesach? Read More »
Jewish Religion