Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Rabbi Akiva’s gift to a ghost
by Rabbi Ed Feinstein
“You shall teach your children diligently” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Rabbi Akiba traveled from town to town in Israel, teaching the Torah, judging. . .
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Shavuot – Torah for everyone
By Rabbi Elazar Muskin
My daughter, Dina, accepted a summer job here in Los Angeles last year. Before being hired, she explained that she was an observant Jew who would. . .
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Non-Orthodox movements continue making inroads in Israel
by Mati Wagner, JTA
After a Jerusalem-area’s religious council allowed a female Reform rabbi to participate in its proceedings, some advocates of liberal Judaism in. . .
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Opinion: If Passover is the question, Shavuot is the answer
by Adin Steinsaltz, JTA
Unlike other Jewish holidays, the Torah does not specify a date for Shavuot; it is celebrated on the 50th day (seven weeks) after Passover. We. . .
Monday, May 21, 2012
Orthodox conversions in Israel down dramatically, study shows
JTA
Orthodox conversions in Israel are down by 31 percent over the past two years, according to a new report.. . .
Friday, May 18, 2012
Hebrew Bible published In Eskimo language
JTA
After a 34-year translation project, the Hebrew Bible and New Testament were published for the first time this week in an Eskimo language.. . .
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Putting the Ten Commandments on display
by Edmon J. Rodman, JTA
Are the Ten Commandments only to be heard but not seen? And when they are seen, how should they look?. . .
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Islamic school loses right to use building over anti-Semitic teachings
JTA
A Toronto Islamic school has lost the right to use a public school for its classes after anti-Semitic teachings were discovered in its curriculum and. . .
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Conn. congregation, member settle lawsuit over non-Jewish burial
JTA
A Jewish woman suing her congregation over the burial of a non-Jewish black woman in its cemetery has settled her lawsuit.. . .
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
When your brother will be low
By Rabbi Lisa Edwards
He flopped down on the couch in my study, looking pale, upset. “What is it?” I asked, imagining a bad diagnosis.. . .
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Five steps to studying and learning from the Torah
by Dasee Berkowitz, JTA
Observing my kids playing, I notice how the same toy, no matter how many times they play with it, can reveal the most remarkable things. My daughter,. . .
Monday, May 14, 2012
From neo-Nazi skinhead to black-hatted Jew: the journey of Pawel Bramson
by Katarzyna Markusz, JTA
Fifteen years ago, Pawel Bramson was a skinhead shouting anti-Semitic and racist slogans during soccer matches. He hated Jews and blacks – simply,. . .
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hebrew College to keep its building
JTA
Hebrew College is renegotiating its debt and will be able to keep its flagship Newton Building.. . .
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
How to be a priest
by Rabbi Yehuda M. Hausman
Leviticus is the biblical book rabbis do not want you to read. Saturated with sacrificial minutiae and unsettling descriptions of ritual impurity,. . .
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Leading feminist theologian to be ordained … at last
By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
In the first few weeks of Rachel Adler’s rabbinic internship at Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC), Rabbi Lisa Edwards had a hard time introducing Adler.. . .
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Don’t worry, be happy
by Rabbi Michael Barclay
Each year on Yom Kippur, we read lines from this week’s Torah portion that teach us about appropriate observance during this High Holy Day.. . .
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What’s in a word? For ‘ordained’ rather than ‘invested’ cantors, a lot
by Debra Rubin, JTA
What’s the difference between investiture and ordination? Plenty, say officials at the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of. . .
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
More than skin deep
By Rabbi Dan Moskovitz
Yuck, skin disease! This has been the cry of many a bar and bat mitzvah student when informed that this week’s Torah portion will be their Torah. . .
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Barmitzvahman — Hero for more than a day
by Edmon J. Rodman
Who is the hero of a bar or bat mitzvah? It’s the 13-year-old, who, after a day of chanting, speaking and being bear-hugged by distant relatives,. . .
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Raising the bar brings zest, creativity to rite of passage
By Rachel Heller
At his recent bar mitzvah, Noah Genco-Kamin managed to tell one of the most well-known stories in the Jewish canon — that of the Israelites. . .
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Holiness in Humility
by Rabbi Joshua Hoffman
Look up the term “unintended consequences” and you’ll find an entire school of thought on the subject. According to one source, consequences of. . .
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Self-styled historian seeks clues to Japan’s Holocaust survivors
By Elyse Glickman
Akira Kitade is a former Japanese tourism executive who still relishes the opportunity to show a newcomer the cultural sights of Tokyo. He also. . .
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
How vegans do Passover
by Gary Smith
Holidays like Passover are a difficult time for Jewish vegans and animal activists, a time of mixed emotions. As much as we love and find relevance. . .
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Lessons My Grandfather Taught Me
By Rabbi Elazar Muskin
Every Passover, as I sit with my family at our seder, I inevitably think of my paternal grandfather, after whom I was named. I never met him. He died. . .
