Jewish Religion

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Pinchus in his famous episode and the daughters of Tzelofchod in theirs, had the courage to not follow the norm like sheep. They weren’t afraid what people  might think. They did what was right, not what was convenient, not what everyone else was doing. Our […]

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Bilaam possessed powers of prophecy that not only rivaled Moshe Rabbeinu’s, they exceeded Moshe Rabbeinu’s. With all the spiritual grandeur that he  experienced, it was only natural that he would devote himself righteously to the ways of Hashem. Yet we see that he did no

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — When we speak to Hashem, the King of kings, the Judge of judges, we should certainly use  a respectful means of addressing Him. Yet when we say a bracha (Hebrew Blessing), we begin with  the words “Baruch Atah” – “Blessed are You.” We actually address Hashem (G-d) in

By Avigail Hurvitz-Prinz JERUSALEM–About a month ago my Talmud class did an exercise where we shared our reasons for studying Gemora. Everyone had their own reasons, and my list came up to a total of 21 reasons as wide ranging as “intellectual challenge” and “to have a sense of the Rabbinic world” or “to find

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — A common reason shared by non-Jews considering conversion to Judaism is that their former religious traditions discourage questioning. Judaism, on the other hand, encourages questions and even allows us to question God. Jews are the Children of Israel and Israel means “One who struggles with God.” Abraham, the

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO– On Thursday, Sivan 28, 5764, June 17, 2004; Rebbetzin Pesha Leibowitz, a”h, returned her soul to her creator. “The Rebbetzin” as we called her, was at the  same time very simple and very complex. I was privileged to be able to fly in from San Diego for the levaya

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Parashat Sh’lach L’cha has a special meaning for Judy and me as we are shortly leaving for Israel. I will be attending the Shalom Hartman Rabbinic Training Institute, a two-week study program for rabbis living outside of Israel. The Rabbinic Training Institute is one of the rare programs

By Daniel Vahab NEW YORK– For more than I year and half now, I have been writing a  book on antisemitism. To further my research, I developed a survey on the subject. .  The short, anonymous survey, open to all, explores how Jews and antisemitism are perceived, as well as the thin line between a

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Rabbi Eli Rosenholtz told me that Reb Dovid Leibowitz ztz”l, Rosh U’meyaseid Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim (RSA), used to cite the Talmudic dictum, that one  should learn not only from the teachings of his rebbe, but from his actions. Reb Dovid would then exhort his talmidim (students): It looks

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN  DIEGO — Parashat Naso contains one of the most beautiful passages in the Torah: Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing. Every Friday evening parents use these words to bless their children at the Shabbat table. It is also used by rabbis to bless their congregants on special occasions. “The Lord bless

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–For years CNN.com has been my homepage. I like to check out national and international news at the beginning of my work day. (The second web page I always check is haaretz.com.) One article in particular caught my eye this morning: “17 Recent Political Sex Scandals.” (http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/17/political.sex.scandals/index.html?hpt=Sbin) The article highlights