Jewish Religion

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — Religion is on the front-burner for many, particularly in the Jewish community, as we celebrate the birthday of creation through Rosh Hashanah, and then the more severe interlude of introspection and soul-cleansing of Yom Kippur. Religion doesn’t always work, but these days it is definitely working. And people

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Every day since we entered the Hebrew month of Elul we have sounded the Shofar during morning minyan. The Shofar reminds us of the upcoming Holy Days, and that we should begin to spend more time directing our hearts and minds toward heaven. One of the central themes

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Reb Yisroel Salanter, one of the greatest Rabbis of his generation, was set to say mourners kaddish in shul. At that shul, in those times, the custom was for only one mourner to say kaddish at each service. Reb Yisroel was designated for that particular service. Saying kaddish

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — There is an old story told about a small yeshiva’s rowing team that never won a match. They finally decided to send an observer over to another school to see how they could improve their performance. The volunteer returned and was excited to share his observations. “I know

By Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — One of the most powerful men in history once told his people that they really ought to fill up a basket with their best fruit and bring it to the priest. In fact, this is what Moses instructed the Hebrews to do when they settled in the land that

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — When I was a counselor at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, the director was Dr. Walter Ackerman, a well-known and formidable educator. He was not the easiest man to approach and the staff was in awe of him. He seemed second only to God in stature and authority.

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–Yosef Greenwald* was hired to work as an Information Technology Professional for Bond-Oppenheim Ltd. While working there, Bond-Oppenheim announced that they were eliminating their IT department. They were going to contract with Infosol Ltd. to provide their IT needs. About half of the IT professionals lost their jobs. The rest

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — While the Torah requires capital punishment (i.e., the death penalty) for murder, it was not easily meted out. First, direct testimony by two witnesses was required: “A person shall be put to death only on the testimony of two or more witnesses; he must not be put to

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — A little girl and her father were crossing a flimsy bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter:”Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don’t fall into the river.” The little girl said, “No, Dad. You hold my hand.”

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO –The last few verses of the traditional Birkat Ha-mazon (Grace after Meals), consisting of verses from the book of Psalms and Jeremiah, are usually sung with a cheerful and uplifting melody. One verse, however, is not sung out loud by some participants. Among the other verses praising God is