Judaism

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Devarim hayotze min halev nichnasim lalev. Attitudes affect and infect others for good and for bad, both consciously and subconsciously, as the following true story illustrates: A man and his elderly father once fell into a dispute. They were very poor and lived in a shack with no

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — On Tuesday I had one of my Community Jewish High classes participate in a provocative discussion. We began by reading the first chapter of the Joseph story from the Torah. In Genesis 28 we learn that Joseph “tattled” on his brothers, shared with them his dreams of one

By Ben Cohen/JNS.org In the coming days, there will be much reflection on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, following the former South African president’s passing on Dec. 5. And in the coming weeks, we can anticipate a febrile exchange over his true views on Israel and the Middle East. We shouldn’t underestimate the

By Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — The good-natured jostling about the uncommon calendar convergence this fall of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving leaves one with the taste of emotional leftovers. The Festival of Lights deserves more than being hyphenated every year with another holiday. Its themes and narrative are more powerful and redemptive than the commercial

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–On Wednesday evening I was among 1,000 Jewish men who were privileged to hear former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, speak at the annual UJF Men’s Event. Among other comments, Ambassador Oren said that today there are two great centers of Jewish life: Israel and North America.