Laurie Baron, Ph.D., compiles a list of lectures on a variety of Jewish topics that will stream Sunday, August 2 through Friday, August 7
Streaming Jewish lectures: August 2-7, 2020 Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
American public life is dominated by hatred and lack of social cohesion from all sides. The escalating unrest in Portland and other major cities, in addition to the severe political schism that has ignited America in recent years is a fire that will not be appeased until all stakeholders find a common ground where they can rise above their differences and build mutual trust and understanding. (Michael Laitman, Ph.D)
Future tech will promote unity, not division Read More »
Business & Finance, USA
American Jews certainly have issues with the African-American community, and personal experience in part convinces me that Black people have some understandable concerns with Jews. Both groups have their share of bigots – anti-Semitic Blacks and racist Jews. However, some of these issues amount to misconceptions that can be readily cleared up by overcoming “our failure to communicate.” (Bruce S. Ticker)
Jews and Blacks: Failure to communicate Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, USA
he federal government is in complete disarray, the country is alarmingly polarized, the coronavirus continues to spread like wildfire, discrimination against the Black and Hispanic communities is widespread, the economy is in shambles, the gulf between the poor and the rich is deepening, unemployment is staggering, our national debt is skyrocketing, our infrastructure is crumbling, our international standing is at an all-time low, and the American dream was replaced by hopelessness and despair. (Alon Ben-Meir, Ph.D)
How did we get to this dire state of affairs? Read More »
Alon Ben-Meir, USA
Attending an annual performance of Handel’s oratorio Messiah has been part of my life since childhood, and I have tried to pass this tradition on to my own children and grandchildren whenever and wherever possible. (Dorothea Shefer-Vanson)
Messiah: An oratorio of enduring beauty, spiritual uplift Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsAlthough screen neo-Nazis continue to be portrayed as ideologues, mad scientists, or thugs, historical docudramas and psychosocial films constitute an increasing portion of the movies about neo-Nazis produced since 1980. This corpus of movies renders their main characters victims of familial, political, or socioeconomic circumstances rather than as stock villains. Their proliferation reflects the escalation of white supremacist rhetoric into recurring acts of right-wing terrorism in Europe and North America from the 1980s on. Depending on the national origin of these pictures, the specific catalysts for radicalization differ, but the images and themes of Holocaust denial, nativism, Nazi iconography, the skinhead look, and virulent racism embraced by actual and fictional white nationalists resemble each other because they network with each other via Internet propaganda, international contacts, joint training maneuvers, rock music, and social media. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Cinematic history of White nationalism Read More »
International, Lawrence Baron, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
The Jewish calendar contains a mourning period during the summer months. It begins and ends with fast days, whose precise dates are not based on verifiable facts. The mourning period chiefly commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples, and serves to remind Jews of their history and their connection to the land and people of Israel. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
Fast days: legends, history, explanations Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.
Exercise is health. It’s that simple. In today’s COVID19 focused world, health and wellbeing are on the top of our minds more than ever. Perhaps that’s the silver lining of this pandemic, the renewed focus on health and wellbeing. We want to feel good and live a long, happy, strong and healthy life. And exercise, that no-cost, do anywhere at any time, side-effect free activity, has become established by medical science as an essential step on the clear pathway to get us there. (Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D)
Exercise is health! Read More »
Lifestyles, Michael Mantell
I have chosen four passages for a comparison with texts from ancient Israel’s pagan neighbors, concerning divine wrath, wisdom, divine rescue, and sacred voices. (Irv Jacobs, M.D.)
Ancient practices: divine wrath, rescue, wisdom, sacred voices Read More »
Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion
I am presenting this missive during the thickly arduous days of mid-summer, 2020. Our nation is gripped by immersed disease, painful racial reckonings, and a suffocating lack of thoughtful leadership. (Ben Kamin)
I still believe in the American spirit Read More »
International, Lifestyles, USA
Supposedly, the name Kaputnik was assigned to the family at Ellis Island, when Mrs. Kapustin (her real name) worried aloud that if the baby dragon they had smuggled into the U.S. were discovered they would be Kaput (finished). “Is that your name, Kaput?” a translator asked. “Nicht (No),” responded Mrs. Kapustin. And so the immigration inspector wrote down what he thought he heard — “Kaputnik.” [Donald H. Harrison]
Ellis Island and the name ‘Kaputnik’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USA
There is a very famous, very holy wall in Jerusalem called the Kotel, the Western Wall. It is all that remains of the two great Jewish temples built over 2000 years ago. It is the destruction of those two temples that we remember when we observe the holiday called Tisha B’Av. (Marcia Berneger)
Judaism for children: Tisha B’Av’s lessons Read More »
Jewish Religion, Marcia Berneger
In all faiths, cultures, and communities, the question of evil plays a prominent role in that specific group’s philosophies. What is evil, and how does one comprehend it in our lives? In Judaism, the question of evil and suffering is expressed in the following statement “Tzadik ve ra lo- A righteous person, and bad to him, rasha vetov lo- a wicked person, and good to him.” The question is why do righteous people suffer and experience hardship, while others who are “wicked “do not experience pain and suffering? [Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg]
What Rav Soloveitchik taught about suffering Read More »
Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Jewish Religion“And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7) That’s quite a lot of teaching and speaking, isn’t it? (Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D)
Learn Torah, know it, act upon it Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell