Judaism

By 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

By 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.

By 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

From 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

NEW 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

By 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

  SAFED, 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

By 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

By 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

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — Two thousand years ago lived Rebbi Akiva – the greatest Rabbi of his generation, and one of the greatest Rabbis of all time. He amassed 24,000 talmidim (students). They flocked to bask in his greatness and learn his Torah. Rebbi Akiva’s talmidim were the pride of the generation.