By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — In my book, Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith, I showed that Judith, in the apocrypha, the book Jewish ancestors decided not to include in the Bible, was more observant of Jewish practices than Ruth and Esther. The rabbis did not see this in this
Queen Esther inspired many midrashim Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Caren Besner BOYNTON BEACH, Florida — Albert Einstein once observed, “If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare
Anti- Semitism on the march globally Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USAWitness: Lesson’s from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom by Ariel Burger, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York © 2018, ISBN 9781328802699, p. 264 plus notes, $26. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – Elie Wiesel (1928 – 2016), Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize laureate, perhaps best known for his memoir Night, and arguably the most well-known Holocaust spokesman of
What Elie Wiesel taught his students Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish HistoryBy Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO — This coming week, we will be celebrating the holiday of Purim. According to the the Jewish mystical work the Zohar, in the world to come, Purim will be one of only two holidays that is still celebrated – the other one is Yom Kippur. At first glance, it
The Zohar’s linkage of Purim and Yom Kippur Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — I described in my book Mysteries of Judaism that no Jewish holiday is observed today as mandated in the Bible. The rabbis changed every one of them. Many of them had to be changed because their basic observance was a sacrifice, and sacrifices were discontinued when
Rabbis altered Purim fetes over the years Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish ReligionMEXICO CITY (Press Release) – A delegation of American Jewish Committee (AJC) leaders — joined by representatives of the Mexican-American community from across the United States and leaders of the Mexican Jewish community — met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador today for an hour-long session. The meeting, the first by a Jewish organization
Lopez Obrador tells of friendship for Jewish community Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Making the rounds of Jewish film festivals across the country is the documentary Chasing Portraits by Elizabeth Rynecki, concerning a quest to learn more about the pre-Holocaust art of her Polish Jewish great-grandfather Moshe Rynecki (Pronounced Renetsky). Previously, Elizabeth Rynecki published a book with the same title that
Quest for Rynecki’s art fuels ‘Chasing Portraits’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA
By Donald H. Harrison POWAY, California – Eva Schloss, 89, who has a powerful Holocaust survival story to tell about herself, knows that the world also hungers for details about her posthumous step-sister Anne Frank, the famous young girl diarist, whom she had known in Amsterdam before their respective families had gone into hiding from
Schloss tells her and Anne Frank’s Holocaust stories Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USABy Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO –This Shabbat, we read Parashat Pekudei. It is the last Torah portion, in what has been quite a few in a row, that deals primarily with the construction of the the Mishkan. We are given a very detailed review of how the Mishkan was built, and the allocations of
Weekly Torah portion: Pekudei Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Professor Samuel J. Levine compares many Jewish laws with American laws that address the same issues in two 2018 volumes of Jewish Law and American Law.
Comparing Jewish and American laws Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, USABy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida –The Bible says nothing about life after death. It does not mention heaven or garden of Eden as a future abode of reward and Hell as a place of punishment after death. Maimonides states in his work Chelek that heaven is not an area where the good
Does the Torah mention life after death? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Joshua Dorsch SAN DIEGO — In our Torah portion this past week, VaYakel, Betzalel is singled out amongst all of the artisans of Israel to build the Mishkan, the tabernacle that the Israelites carried with them through the desert. The Torah then tells us that Betzalel was filled with “Ruach Elohim” a divine
Weekly Torah portion: VaYakel Read More »
Jewish Religion
(c) Edwin Black WASHINGTON, D.C. — This is deeply personal. But what I have experienced should resonate with the entire Jewish community—the one we know and the one to come. In the whirlwind that seizes me and all who are communally aware, I have reached a new and stunning personal location, wedged between the searing
A Ballad in the Key of 4G Read More »
Edwin Black, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USABy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — If people would take the time to look at the bulletin of an Orthodox Synagogue, they would find something very curious. The women are instructed to light candles several minutes before the men are scheduled to leave the home to attend the Mincha
Why women light candles before Shabbat begins Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion