By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Many people would be surprised to hear that the charge of drinking blood was a common accusation made against the nascent Christian religion in the first three centuries of its existence. Yes, this historical fact is true and recorded in the annals of ancient history. The Roman […]
When Christians were victims of blood libels Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Yehuda Ben Hanan LOS ANGELES — I helped to start MAZELTOV.COM, an event-centric social-network, with a deep-rooted emphasis on charitable giving. The word “Mazeltov!” has been adopted by people of all faiths from around the globe, but for Jews, this word carries with it a rich history and tradition. Our story started in 1995,
Mazeltov.com–What’s it all about? Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM– Here’s a crop of articles that arrived in my Inbox in the last week: The Jewish Chronicle of London (March 21) has an article about Lord Ahmed, Britain’s first Muslim peer, who has been suspended by the country’s Labour Party because of a statement he made in his native Pakistan that
Anti-Semitism increasing in Europe Read More »
Jewish Religion
SAN DIEGO — Melanie Rubin, who spotted this gem, asks: “Does it take chutzpa to put chutzpa on your license plate?” In our opinion, not at all. Just a sense of humor.
Jewish license plate: Chutzpa Read More »
Jewish Religion, Melanie RubinBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — The historian Thomas Cahill published an exalted and cogent book in 1998 entitled The Gifts of the Jews. This is the season that especially proves his point. Passover is the best gift we ever gave to the world; nobody who was ever a human being could turn down
The song of Passover Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Michael Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Children have an unusual ability when it comes to confronting our spiritual hypocrisy as parents and as adults; very often they get to the essence of the problem as they perceive things. Frequently, as parents, we often fail to hear the questions our young people ask of us;
Pushing the seder leader’s buttons Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiThe Passover story, told to the songs of Les Miserables, by the Maccabeats:
‘Les Miserables’ of Passover Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — After receiving last week’s D’var Torah about hamantaschen, my son, Rabbi Adam Rosenthal, emailed me noting that I was already avoiding dealing with the text of Leviticus, which is primarily concerned with the laws of animal sacrifices, in my weekly column. Since I am on a streak, why
Better a rebellious child than an indifferent one Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEG0 — The local baker was plotting to poison the Jews of Prague. His fiendish plan was to use our own holiday against us. He knew that the Jews did not eat bread during that holiday of Pesach, and that the day after the holiday, they came in droves to
An 18th century Passover plot in Prague Read More »
Jewish ReligionSPRINGFIELD, N.J. (Press Release)–Congregation Beth Am and Temple Solel in San Diego County, California, have partnered with Behrman House, the leading publisher of textbooks and multi-media educational materials for Jewish religious schools, to bring the company’s Online Learning Center (OLC) to the fingertips of Hebrew students and teachers alike. Behrman House introduced the OLC last year
Solel, Beth Am utilize On-Line Learning Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Jack Abramowitz NEW YORK — “Now, the man Moshe was very humble, more so than any person on the face of the Earth” – Numbers 12:3 A famous and familiar verse. But if Moshe Rabbeinu is our role model for humility, who is our Biblical exemplar for ego? There are a lot of
What would it take to silence your ego? Read More »
Jewish Religion
SAN DIEGO — Melanie Rubin, license-plate spotter extraordinaire, found it, and Shahar Masori, Israeli-born son in law of the publishers, translated it: “Kal means light as in lighter than air. And ram means high as in higher than a kite…” Somebody, obviously, is feeling great!
Jewish-interest license plate: Kal Ram Read More »
Jewish Religion, Melanie RubinBy Sheryl Rowling Sheryl asked me to do the column for her this time because “this year, Passover falls right in the busiest part of tax season!” I said to her, “Why is this year different from any other year?” That girl has no sense of humor these days … Dear Passover Fairy, I’m trying
Money Maven: The Passover Fairy Read More »
Jewish Religion, Sheryl RowlingBy Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb NEW YORK — The world did not know that he was a mystic. He was an accomplished diplomat, who knew how to deal with people in positions of great power. Some characterized him as a shrewd, and even manipulative, manager of men. His name was Dag Hammarskjold, and he
Rav Kook, Dag Hammarskjold spiritual beings Read More »
Jewish Religion