By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK –The custom is fairly prevalent nowadays, but it was not a common practice thirty years ago when my friend raised his sons. He would seek out especially pious rabbis, generally quite elderly ones, to request that they bless his children. In keeping with tradition, these rabbis would place […]
Blessing for a boy to grow up like other boys Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel SAN DIEGO — The Psalms’ language is unabashedly picturesque; it full of nature imagery—as is the Siddur itself. One way to think of the metaphor is to see it as a moving image; it is not static. This thought is the simple premise behind the Nehahel Siddur: Nature serves to
New Orthodox siddur is intellectually attractive Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiTrialogue and Terror: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam after 9/11 by Alan L. Berger, ed., Cascade Books, Eugene, OR; ISBN 978-1-60899-546-2 ©2012, $30.00, p. 255, plus index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Domestic stories primarily covered the front page of the New York Times on September 10, 2001. Succeeding days and months would be
The post-911 world through interreligious eyes Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionBy Binyamin Kagedan/JNS.org As is the case for many holidays in the Jewish calendar cycle, Lag B’Omer (April 28 this year) carries within it not one, but multiple and distinct layers of meaning. Mystical significances, historical memories, and moral reflections all meld together into the contemporary notion of what makes this day special, the product
Lag B’Omer: Rethinking the Akiva narrative Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — There are many times when I feel that I am living in Israel when I drive from the synagogue to my home. It is not because of the scenery or landscape, but rather because of the all-way stop signs at the intersection of Tommy and Wing Span Drives.
God watches as scofflaws run stop signs Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –How the mighty have fallen! This past week, much has been said about one of Modern Orthodoxy’s greatest scholars of our time—Rabbi Michael Broyde, who allegedly has been using a fake ID to help promote his writings and Halachic scholarship. The use of aliases is common in much
Were those who attacked ethicist themselves ethical? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — “The L-rd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron… …he shall not come to the Sanctuary at all times… …so that he should not die.” (Leviticus 16:1-2) Rashi teaches us that the Torah emphasizes the death of the sons of Aharon before listing
Visualizing is a step toward problem solving Read More »
Jewish ReligionFrom Tazpit News Agency Pope Francis I, who hails from Argentina, helped launch People of the World Inscribe the Bible in Argentina by writing the first verse at the International Book Fair in Buenos Aires in 2006. At the time he was known as Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He was
Pope Francis helped hand write Bible copy Read More »
Jewish ReligionNEW YORK (Press Release) — The Genesis Prize Foundation, the operating entity for the Genesis Prize, announced Wednesday, April 17, that Wayne L. Firestone has been named its President. The annual $1 million Genesis Prize will be awarded to an accomplished, internationally renowned individual from anywhere in the world who is a role model in his/her community
$1 million offered next role model for young Jews Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — He never returned phone calls. He certainly never returned e-mails. He rarely smiled. He had very sophisticated tastes in wine and fine liquor. A seven-course gourmet dinner with a wine pairing at each course was almost an everyday occurrence for him. He had the vocabulary of a
What does it mean to be holy? Read More »
Jewish ReligionSAFED, Israel (Press Release)- When Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion wryly observed that “In Israel in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles,” he could not anticipate that the spirit of his words would motivate the largest single public gathering on Israel’s annual calendar, as 400,000 people jam the
Realists believe in miracles on Lag B’Omer Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — While Americans are working to understand the latest affront to their security, Israelis are passing through the annual cycle of three days marking the tragedies associated with the Holocaust and Israel’s security, and the nation’s successes since Independence. Claims of exploiting the Holocaust for political gain are prominent on the
Tisha b’Av, Yom Hashaoh, Yom HaZikaron Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Jewish ReligionBy Danny Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — It’s a big world out there and it’s getting smaller all the time, thanks to the internet and free websites. I often surf the net not looking for anything in particular but always on the look-out for something that tickles my fancy and puts my waking brain into
Judaism, not just a religion but a family tradition Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Call me old-fashioned or sexist, but I think that the entire dust up of President Obama calling California attorney general Kamala Harris the “best-looking attorney general in the country” is a tempest in a teapot. I understand the importance of de-emphasizing appearance in a world in which physical
Finding the positive in others Read More »
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