Jewish Religion

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Many people find at least one aspect of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt unsettling: “The Israelites had done Moses’ bidding and borrowed from the Egyptians objects of silver and gold, and clothing. And the Lord had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people, and they let them have […]

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — When my daughter, Margalit, was young she had very simple tastes when it came to souvenirs: she liked rocks. When we walked into gift shops, she invariably gravitated to displays of brightly colored stones, geodes, and crystals. The more ornate, complex, or unusual the rock, the more she

By Rabbi Dow Marmur  JERUSALEM–Though Israel hasn’t (yet?) become the Jewish spiritual centre that some early Zionists envisaged, there’re currently many important efforts to build bridges between Jewish tradition and contemporary Jewry that might renew Judaism and reinvigorate the Jewish people everywhere. Some of it, alas, is ugly and dangerous, e.g., using biblical myths about the

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal   SAN DIEGO–When I was attending the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, very little emphasis was placed on “practical rabbinics,” the nuts and bolts of being a rabbi. One piece of advice I do remember was aseh Toratcha keva, “fix a time for your Torah study.” We were warned that

 A Vow Fulfilled by Fran Laufer; Targum Press; 210 pages; $21.99. By Norman Manson SAN DIEGO–The most inspiring aspect of this memoir – in addition to its story of sheer survival – is the way Fran and Simon Laufer created a thriving, prosperous life for themselves and their family in the United States, at the same

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — One of the most commented upon panels in the fused glass sculpture of the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the lobby of Tifereth Israel Synagogue is the one which portrays Dan. Dan is symbolized by a snake, which seems to be an unusual metaphor for the ancestors of

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA –As Kramer from “Seinfeld” might say, it’s a Chanukah miracle!!! The word “Christmas” was removed from the 15-foot-high “Christmas Village” sign welcoming visitors to a Christmas market in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall by order of Managing Director Richard Negrin on Nov. 29. Some city workers and visitors griped about

By  Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Yaakov and Yosef, after years of separation, were finally reunited. Yaakov thought his beloved son had been killed. Yosef, though a viceroy in Egypt, was still essentially a  prisoner. He believed he would never be able leave Egypt to see his father again. How great was their joy

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–On Thursday morning, the last day of Chanukah, Sol Minsberg gave me an article to read after minyan. It was published on the website of Reform Judaism (www.rj.org). Its author, William Berkson, points out the how Chanukah is understood in Israel versus the United States. “In Israel, Chanukah is largely