By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — In Parshas Yisro, we read of the most significant event in human history – the giving and receiving of the Torah. The Children of Israel, agreed to follow the mitzvos (commandments) of the Torah sight unseen. They understood the deep love that Hashem (G-d) had for them, and […]
The Torah has meaning for readers of every age Read More »
Jewish ReligionHOUSTON (Press Release) — In a show of solidarity with the nation of Israel and the Jewish people, Joel and Victoria Osteen will travel to Israel to hold “A Historic Night of Hope” at the Jerusalem Theater on Thursday, February 3, at 7:00 p.m. The event will be broadcast around the world by the Trinity Broadcasting
Christian pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen head for rally in Jerusalem to support Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–Wednesday night Judy, Margalit, and I watched The Secret Life of Bees. The movie, produced in 2008, is based on the book by the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The story takes place in Southern Carolina in 1964 in the midst of racial turmoil. The Civil Rights Act had
Remembering the Exodus and the American Civil Rights struggle Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
Battle of the Two Talmuds: Judaism’s Struggle with Power, Glory, & Guilt by Leon H. Charney and Saul Mayzlish, Barricade Books, Fort Lee, NJ; ISBN 978-1-56980-439-1 ©2010, $22.95, p. 224 plus glossary By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — One does not need to listen to very many rabbinic sermons before he or she hears the words, “And the
‘Battle of the two Talmuds’ looks at an ancient split between Israel and the Diaspora Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion, Travel and FoodJERUSALEM (Press Release)– The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s Israel Commission and Nefesh B’Nefesh – which works in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency – are pleased to announce the continuation of their joint Ma’alot program for a third year. Following the runaway success of the program over the past two years in deepening the connection
Conservative movement to continue to emphasize aliyah to Israel Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO — Americans are animal lovers. Bo, the First Pooch, has his own Facebook page. (Yes, I did “like” Bo on my Facebook page.) Besides watching for Governor Brown to announce a State Budget Plan earlier this week, the Sacramento Bee had a reporter assigned to follow Sutter – the
For Dor Hadash, a new ritual— the blessing of the animals Read More »
Jewish ReligionPARIS (Press Release)–In a letter to UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Director for International Relations, Dr.Shimon Samuels, noted, “The Iranian student Basij militia, of Bu-Ali Sina/Avicenna University in Hamadan province, have removed the mausoleum sign to the entrance of the Esther and Mordechai tomb in Shush, during a demonstration replete with antisemitic
Wiesenthal asks UNESCO to intervene to protect Tomb of Esther in Iran Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO–Debbie Friedman, still a young woman, always a poet, died Sunday. If she had earned a few dollars for all the times people have sung, hummed, chanted, or performed one of her hundreds of modern psalms without accreditation or royalties, she would have been a very wealthy woman. But instead
Debbie Friedman wrote God’s libretto Read More »
Jewish ReligionJERUSALEM (Press Release)– WebYeshiva.org, the first fully-interactive Torah study program on the Web, and the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) announce on Monday a new partnership. The partnership will broaden WebYeshiva.org and LSJS’s reach to students based in the UK, Western Europe, and South Africa. The partnership between the London School of Jewish Studies and WebYeshiva.org
WebYeshiva and London School of Jewish Studies announce partnership Read More »
Jewish ReligionNEW YORK, Jan. 9 (Press Release)–The Union for Reform Judaism mourns the passing of our teacher Debbie Friedman, z”l. Debbie influenced and enriched contemporary Jewish music, and Jewish life, in a profound way. Her music crossed generational and denominational lines and carved a powerful legacy of authentic Jewish spirituality into our daily lives. Responding to
Debbie Friedman, Jewish song and hymn composer, dies Read More »
Jewish ReligionSAN DIEGO (Press Release)– Is it possible to gain deep insight into our personal human struggles by exploring familiar Bible characters and their stories? Modern master of biblical interpretation, Rabbi Norman J. Cohen, brings biblical ancestors to life as husbands, wives, parents and siblings. Using midrash – interpretive literature that reads between the lines of
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Many people find at least one aspect of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt unsettling: “The Israelites had done Moses’ bidding and borrowed from the Egyptians objects of silver and gold, and clothing. And the Lord had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people, and they let them have
Did Israelites steal or request objects of silver and gold from Egyptians? Read More »
Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — When my daughter, Margalit, was young she had very simple tastes when it came to souvenirs: she liked rocks. When we walked into gift shops, she invariably gravitated to displays of brightly colored stones, geodes, and crystals. The more ornate, complex, or unusual the rock, the more she
God–not human incantation–rocks our world Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Though Israel hasn’t (yet?) become the Jewish spiritual centre that some early Zionists envisaged, there’re currently many important efforts to build bridges between Jewish tradition and contemporary Jewry that might renew Judaism and reinvigorate the Jewish people everywhere. Some of it, alas, is ugly and dangerous, e.g., using biblical myths about the
Conference probes halakhah’s role in 21st century life Read More »
Jewish Religion