Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Bands enter b’nai mitzvah music mix

by Rachel Wizenfeld

While b’nai mitzvah parties have long featured DJs to mix tunes and rouse the crowd, some celebrants are choosing something else: teen bands.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Crowdsource your Simcha

by Lilit Marcus, JTA

When Amanda Melpolder began planning her wedding to Jeff Greenberg, she hoped the ceremony would be unlike others.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Getting ready for baby

by Kylie Jane Wakefield

Rabbi Julia Weisz found herself in a bit of a conundrum when she became an expectant mother.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Lies, lies, lies

by Rabbi Avivah W. Erlick

My daughter, a soon-to-graduate high school senior, was chosen by a teacher to participate in an event to teach the school a lesson about drunk. . .

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Conversion: A big leap, one small step at a time

by Kylie Jane Wakefield

Jazmine Green’s Jewish journey began when she met the person with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. It wasn’t until a brief. . .

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Drawing new interest to the Talmud

by Edmon J. Rodman, JNS.org

Last August, in conjunction with the beginning of a new seven-and-a-half year cycle of “daf yomi”—the daily study of a double page of the. . .

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A failure of imagination: Parashat Shelach Lecha (Numbers 13:1-15:41)

by Rabbi Yehuda Hausman

The imagination is a stretch of highway that bends through the universe. Its lanes unmarked, its exits limitless, yet it is, nevertheless, the. . .

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

‘God is a fraud’

by Rabbi Paul Kipnes

In this week’s parasha, Beha’alotecha, Moses faces the fragility of life as he watches his sister, Miriam, struggle with tzara’at, a dangerous. . .

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Cellist’s path to Judaism

by Kylie Jane Wakefield

When cellist Lynn Harrell would play “Kol Nidre” at his synagogue on Yom Kippur, he felt more than the notes and the melody. It was through the. . .

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The ordeal of the Sotah: Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)

By Rabbi Anne Brener

In the late ’70s, I carried a beeper when it was my turn to be on call for a rape-victim helpline. One evening I had it clipped to my jacket during. . .

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Grace in the wilderness: Parashat Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20)

by Rabbi Mike Comins

The book of Bamidbar, literally “in the desert” or “in the wilderness,” is a hard book to read. Over and over, plagues break out and. . .

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Q&A with Rabbi Ed Feinstein

By Susan Freudenheim

On May 11, Rabbi Ed Feinstein, senior rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, will be feted for his two decades of service to the synagogue. He talks. . .

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

How to become a Jew

by Rabbi Neal Weinberg

There are a variety of options for how to begin the process, but all involve study with a rabbi. Some people study with an individual rabbi for a. . .

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Conversion 101

by Kylie Jane Wakefield

Conversion to Judaism is not easy. It requires a change in beliefs, actions and lifestyle. It involves extensive study, practice, a leap of faith, a. . .

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Becoming Jewish: Tales from the Mikveh

By Susan Freudenheim

Late on a recent Wednesday afternoon, Judith Golden and Suzanne Rosenthal perched at their desks in a small room in the depths of American Jewish. . .

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Study: Jewish summer camps increasingly attune to special needs kids

JTA

A study released by the Foundation for Jewish Camp showed overnight camps are growing increasingly aware of the needs of children with disabilities.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

What happened at Sinai

By Rabbi Dov Fischer

This week’s double Torah portion, Behar-Bechukotai, begins: “And the Lord spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai” (Leviticus 25:1). At the end of our. . .

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The cure for anger: Parashat Emor (Leviticus 21:1-24:23)

by Rabbi Avivah W. Erlick

Life is not easy. In fact, at times it’s downright infuriating. Our natural tendency is to want to blame someone, and the easiest target is God. We. . .

Monday, April 22, 2013

Rabbi leads interfaith service at Boston Marathon bombing site

JTA

About 100 people attended a rabbi-led interfaith service for the victims of the Boston Marathon attack at the site of the bombing.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Food, inspired by Israel

by Kylie Jane Wakefield

Sandy Leon, 42, grew up Catholic, but she never connected with the religion. Three years ago, she took a trip to Israel to see if, perhaps, Judaism. . .

Friday, April 19, 2013

Who is like you?

by Rabbi Joshua Hoffman

Nathan was a young man in his 20s, living in Gulfport, Miss. He lived with his mother and grandmother in a small three-bedroom home a little over a. . .

Thursday, April 18, 2013

How to make b’nai mitzvah meaningful

by Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben

I was meeting with an upcoming bat mitzvah girl the other day and talking with her about the Torah (what else?). I pointed out all the books that. . .

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A survival guide for parents of b’nai mitzvah kids

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner

So you’re planning a bar or bat mitzvah? Mazel tov! You may feel overwhelmed by decisions and details. I certainly did when it was time for my son,. . .

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Bat Mitzvah at the Kotel: Is it possible?

by Michele Chabin

Every week, dozens of bar mitzvah boys from Israel and the Diaspora celebrate their rite of passage at the Kotel, also known as the Western Wall,. . .