‘A Shepherd’s Song’ analyzes Psalm 23’s metaphor

A Shepherd’s Song: Psalm 23 and the Shepherd Metaphor in Jewish Thought by Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, Kodesh Press, New York, NY;  ISBN 978-0-61599-132-0 ©2014, $22.95, p. 360, plus Notes and Index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.   WINCHESTER, California — Psalm 23 is arguably the most well known of the one hundred fifty psalms. Its opening

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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Senate confirms Cynthia Ann Bashant for U.S. bench

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has announced Senate confirmation of Cynthia Ann Bashant to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California, headquartered in San Diego. Senator Feinstein recommended Bashant to the White House for this position last year. “I am very pleased that Cynthia Bashant, whom I recommended

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Travel and Food

Senators condemn Islamists’ abduction of school girls

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on Thursday, May 1, introduced a resolution condemning the April 14 abduction of as many as 234 Nigerian school girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram. While local officials have reported that

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International, USA

Jewish groups denounce ‘price tag’ attacks by extremists

NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday strongly condemned the spate of “Price Tag” attacks in Israel, welcomed the commitment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue the perpetrators, and called on Israeli law enforcement to enhance crackdown efforts against those responsible. The so-called Price Tag attacks are carried out by extremist

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Middle East, USA

APN ‘appalled’ by Conference vote to exclude J Street

WASHINGTON, DC  (Press Release)– Americans for Peace Now (APN) is appalled and deeply disappointed at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization’s failure to accept J Street, an important player in the pro-Israel arena, into its ranks. As one of a handful of members of the Conference who focus on peace and security

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Middle East, USA

‘Jewish state’ amendment planned for Israel’s basic law

TEL AVIV (Press Release) — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, May 1, made the following remarks during his tour of Independence Hall in Tel Aviv: “The Declaration of Independence sets, as the cornerstone in the life of the state, the national Jewish identity of the State of Israel. To my great regret, as we have

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Middle East

Day school Israel education feeds sense of connection

NEW YORK (Press Release) — Sixty-five years after its establishment, Israel remains a central feature of Jewish educational programming in North America, perhaps nowhere more ubiquitously than in Jewish day schools. The AVI CHAI Foundation’s newly released report, “Hearts and Minds: Israel in North American Jewish Day Schools,” takes the measure of what day schools seek to

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA