JERUSALEM (Press Release) — The Knesset of Israel held its first ever Tu’Bshvat Seder on Wednesday, Jan. 15. It was hosted by the Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein. The seder, which replicates the four cups of wine of the Passover Seder and includes traditional readings associated with land and produce, was conducted jointly by […]
Knesset Speaker hosts first Tu B’Shevat seder Read More »
Jewish ReligionChumash Mesoras Harav – Chumash with Commentary Based on the Teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik – Sefer Bereishis by Dr. Arnold Lustiger: OU Press and Ohr Publishing; First edition (2013) ISBN-10: 0989124606. Price: $38.24 Rating: 5* By Rabbi Michael Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As one of the most important Orthodox thinkers of his time,
Soleveitchik via Lustiger illuminates the Torah Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
NEW YORK (Press Release)–Tu B’Shevat, the 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar—celebrated this year on Thursday, January 16, 2014—is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new
Tu B’Shevat comes Thursday, January 16, this year Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — This Shabbat lucky Torah readers will chant Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea. Shirat Hayam is the poem the Israelites sang after they safely crossed the Sea of Reeds. Looking back, they saw the waters closing upon the pursuing Egyptians and knew that they were finally safe.
Another aspect of ‘The Song of the Sea’ Read More »
Jewish Religion
MUNICH (WJC) — The government of Bavaria, one of the 16 German states, announced on Tuesday that it would introduce a bill in the upper house of the German legislature aimed at facilitating the restitution of Nazi-looted art. If adopted, the new legislation would eliminate a 30-year statute of limitations in the German Civil Code
Lauder: Bavarian bill on looted art ‘insufficient’ Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion
By Judy Lash Balint/JNS.org JERUSALEM—It’s 9:30 a.m. on a sunny Monday morning in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. Two large groups of revelers almost collide in the alley leading to the main square. Both groups are accompanied by a clarinetist and a drummer belting out traditional “simcha” tunes, and in the middle
Putting more ‘mitzvah’ into that bar mitzvah Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East
NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Monday voiced “concern and disappointment” with the way the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is questioning the status of prominent and long-established Orthodox rabbis and their ability to perform marriages according to Jewish law. The League specifically cited the case of Rabbi Avi Weiss, a
ADL scolds Israel’s Chief Rabbinate over Weiss case Read More »
Jewish Religion
LONDON (WJC) — French soccer player Nicolas Anelka has come under fire for celebrating a goal last week by flashing the so-called ‘quenelle’ salute popularized by the anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonné Mbala-Mbala. Anelka made the controversial gesture after scoring the first of two goals for his West Bromwich Albion team against West Ham United in
Controversy erupts over Anelka’s ‘quenelle’ salute Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Ezra Friedlander NEW YORK — Jewish philanthropists: I offer a New Year’s Resolution that can potentially change the face of American Jewry for decades. Create a Birthright to a Jewish education. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on Birthright Israel, the program that sends Jewish young adults on a ten day educational
Op-Ed: ‘Birthright to Jewish Education’ needed Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–Another delay?! Another costly delay. It was getting ridiculous already. Michael Malady entered into a contract to buy a condo in New Jersey as an investment. He wanted to fix it up, spruce it up, and resell it. Time and opportunity were a wasting. He was supposed to close on
Thank HaShem, the other side kept delaying Read More »
Jewish ReligionThe Formation of the Jewish Cannon by Timothy H. Lim, Yale University Press, New Haven; ISBN 978-0-300-16434-3 ©2013, $45.00, p. 287, including appendices and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — How many books are there in the Bible? If you came up with a number, you might be wrong. The correct answer to
Scholar analyzes process by which Bible was canonized Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence, by Shai Held. Indiana University Press, 2013. 332 pages. $30. By Rabbi Jack Riemer/JNS.org Whenever a new book on the life and thought of Abraham Joshua Heschel appears, I always have two reactions. One is to marvel at the fact that Heschel is the only one of the
Abraham Joshua Heschel’s insights elucidated for a new generation Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California–Hassidic literature teaches that one of the reasons given for Hassidim swaying in prayer is based upon the analogy of the movement that occurs in the act of love making. Prayer is like “making love to the Shekhinah.” The Baal Shem Tov is purported to have taught: Prayer
Davening at Victoria’s Secret Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO –Zalman left the small village of his youth, to seek his fortune in the big city. It was a very rough and lonely trek. The city can be a harsh place for a newcomer. The pace is much quicker and there is always someone out there looking to swindle
Shabbat: More than a day of rest Read More »
Jewish Religion