By David Ogul SAN DIEGO — I recently spent several days in rural Maryland with a group of men and women from around the country who are doing what they can to save Judaism. The facts are startling. While barely more than 1 of every 10 Jews who got hitched before 1970 was in an […]
Jews reach out to intermarried families Read More »
David Ogul, Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–One morning the revered Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zt”l, was about to enter Mesivta Torah Vodaath, when a teenager sprinted forward to open the door for him. The boy was holding his own Tefillin while also holding the door open for him to enter. Rav Yaakov stopped at the
Who goes through the synagogue door first? Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — The Torah says in parashat Emor: “You shall have one standard for the stranger and citizen alike: for I the Lord am your God.” As I hope you know, I think hachnasat orchim, welcoming visitors, is one of the most important mitzvot that members of a congregation can
Tifereth Israel to host Ron Wolfson for weekend Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Recently I came across an interesting but unusual halachic question: Can a Jewish pimp receive an Aliya on Shabbat? The original questioned pertained to a pimp who was the only Levite in his community. The question came to the attention of the famous Iraqi Sephardic Rabbi
Jewish institutions must take stands against sex trafficking Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Garry Fabian CAPE TOWN, South Africa — While the Jewish population in South Africa has diminished over the last decade as many have emigrated to the US, Australia, Israel and other parts of the world, there is still a substantial number living in the country. We recently spent a week in Cape Town, where
A tourist’s impressions of Jewish Cape Town Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Travel and FoodEchoes of Eden: Sefer Vayikra by Rabbi Ari Kahn; Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2013; ISBN-10: 9652295922, 256 pages; $20.95 By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Rabbi Ari Kahn is one of the most imaginative scholars I have encountered in the Orthodox world. His new commentary on the Book of Leviticus is yet
Rabbi Kahn illuminates mysteries of Leviticus Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK –The custom is fairly prevalent nowadays, but it was not a common practice thirty years ago when my friend raised his sons. He would seek out especially pious rabbis, generally quite elderly ones, to request that they bless his children. In keeping with tradition, these rabbis would place
Blessing for a boy to grow up like other boys Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel SAN DIEGO — The Psalms’ language is unabashedly picturesque; it full of nature imagery—as is the Siddur itself. One way to think of the metaphor is to see it as a moving image; it is not static. This thought is the simple premise behind the Nehahel Siddur: Nature serves to
New Orthodox siddur is intellectually attractive Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiTrialogue and Terror: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam after 9/11 by Alan L. Berger, ed., Cascade Books, Eugene, OR; ISBN 978-1-60899-546-2 ©2012, $30.00, p. 255, plus index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Domestic stories primarily covered the front page of the New York Times on September 10, 2001. Succeeding days and months would be
The post-911 world through interreligious eyes Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Binyamin Kagedan/JNS.org As is the case for many holidays in the Jewish calendar cycle, Lag B’Omer (April 28 this year) carries within it not one, but multiple and distinct layers of meaning. Mystical significances, historical memories, and moral reflections all meld together into the contemporary notion of what makes this day special, the product
Lag B’Omer: Rethinking the Akiva narrative Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — There are many times when I feel that I am living in Israel when I drive from the synagogue to my home. It is not because of the scenery or landscape, but rather because of the all-way stop signs at the intersection of Tommy and Wing Span Drives.
God watches as scofflaws run stop signs Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –How the mighty have fallen! This past week, much has been said about one of Modern Orthodoxy’s greatest scholars of our time—Rabbi Michael Broyde, who allegedly has been using a fake ID to help promote his writings and Halachic scholarship. The use of aliases is common in much
Were those who attacked ethicist themselves ethical? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — “The L-rd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron… …he shall not come to the Sanctuary at all times… …so that he should not die.” (Leviticus 16:1-2) Rashi teaches us that the Torah emphasizes the death of the sons of Aharon before listing
Visualizing is a step toward problem solving Read More »
Jewish ReligionFrom Tazpit News Agency Pope Francis I, who hails from Argentina, helped launch People of the World Inscribe the Bible in Argentina by writing the first verse at the International Book Fair in Buenos Aires in 2006. At the time he was known as Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He was
Pope Francis helped hand write Bible copy Read More »
Jewish Religion