When we learn the parshiyot of the Mishkan, it’s easy to get caught up in measurements, materials, and blueprints. But the Torah isn’t giving us an engineering manual. It’s giving us a mirror. [Michael Mantell]
Parasha Terumah – The gold standard, inside and out Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
The president – our president, that is – tore into Herzog, who has held off on the pardon request. “The people of Israel should really shame him,” Trump told reporters at the White House, The New York Times reported. [Bruce S. Ticker]
The law and Donald Trump: Twisting it in America, then Israel Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Jewish History, News Media, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
When the big day finally arrives, Brianna is a bundle of nerves. With encouragement from her friends, the cantor, and the rabbi, she’s reminded that she doesn’t have to be perfect—she just needs to do her best. [Cailin Acosta]
Bat Mitzvah saga shared in book for readers ages 8 through 12 Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
While the previous episodes laid the groundwork of shared trauma and early 20th-century labor solidarity, Episode 3 dives headlong into the 1960s—the decade where the “interwoven” threads of these two communities were pulled to their absolute tension and breaking point. [Barrett Holman Leak]
Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History, part 3 ‘Grand Alliance’ Read More »
Antisemitism, Barrett Holman Leak, Holocaust, Jewish History, Opinion, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
This week’s parsha, Terumah, opens with one of the Torah’s most profound invitations: “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]
Why do Jews build synagogues? The origin and purpose of sacred space Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Chicago native Emery Lehman, Jewish speedskater and four-time Olympian, took the silver medal for Team USA’s Speed Skating Men’s Team, along with teammates Casey Dawson and Ethan Cepuran, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, in Milan. Lehman hinted he plans to retire from speedskating after the 2026 Olympics. [Cailin Acosta]
One Jewish Olympian has medaled so far Read More »
Cailin Acosta, International, Israel, News Media, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
What’s the difference between annexation and sovereignty? Annexing implies something is being taken from an established territory belonging to someone else. Sovereignty means extending authority over a region. [Steve Kramer]
While liars are oppressed by the weight of their misrepresentations, truth tellers have clear consciences. [Donald H. Harrison]
Middle school girls learn the value of truth telling Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Selman decided to leave Russia forever and move to the United States to live with his mother’s sisters. On November 2, 1910, he arrived in Philadelphia. In September 1911, Waksman became a student at the New Jersey State College of Agriculture at Rutgers University, from which he graduated in 1915 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural science. Starting his research there in soil microbiology, he received his master’s degree in 1916, along with US citizenship. [Alex Gordon]
Jewish biography: Selman Waksman – The great healer Read More »
Alex Gordon, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined ContributorsFor years, hand-wringing over a looming “rabbinic shortage” has dominated communal discourse. However, the Atra study meticulously dismantles this narrative. The issue isn’t a lack of individuals called to service, but a profound mismatch between supply and specific demands. [Barrett Holman Leak]
The shifting sands of the rabbinate Read More »
Barrett Holman Leak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
With antisemitism and anti-Zionism rising on campus, our Visiting Israeli Professors and Modern Israel Studies classes are doing something vital: providing academic truth. They give students the tools and the context to look past the social media noise and actually engage with the modern state of Israel. [Murray Galinson San Diego Israeli Initiative]
A record-breaking term: Over 350 students enrolled in Israel studies classes Read More »
Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
On the appointed date, we arrived at the theatre and found the foyer lit by what seemed like thousands of candles (which we later found were electronic, but looked very realistic), creating a quite magical effect. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
A candlelit concert Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Lobell notes that Judaism did not ask her to believe first, but to learn, to question, and to practice. Where Catholicism had been imposed, Judaism was discovered. Where faith once felt compulsory, it now felt invitational. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.]
Young woman atheist describes her conversion to Orthodox Judaism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Mantell, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
What I am really looking for are the signs that what we created was not simply an experience, but an invitation, an invitation into something far more aspirational: a genuine sense of belonging. [Betzy Lynch]