- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Oklahoma tornado: How you can help
Jewish groups are joining the effort to help those displaced by the tornado in suburban Oklahoma City.
A prayer for Oklahoma
Lord our God, we stood before You just a week ago to receive the Ten Statements of Your Torah. We stood, as though with our ancestors, and listened to the Torah reader chant descriptions of the smoking mountain, the thunderous…
Chabad center taking in Oklahomans displaced by deadly tornado
A Chabad center in Oklahoma City opened its building as a shelter for those displaced by a deadly tornado.
- HOLLYWOOD
Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes
Using his preternatural smoothness, Justin Timberlake saved the Coen brothers from some serious awkwardness at a Cannes press conference for their folk singer film “Inside Llewyn Davis” on Sunday. “Jewish…
Sean Penn lobbies for Charedi man imprisoned in Bolivia
Actor Sean Penn urged a congressional hearing to pressure Bolivia to release a haredi Orthodox father of five under house arrest in the country.
Mel Brooks’ top 10 Jewy Jewish scenes [VIDEO]
Monday night marks the national premier broadcast of the American Masters installment on Mel Brooks. To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a collection of Brooks’ best Jewish clips.
- LIFE & CULTURE
Sarah Silverman sings about staying home in ‘Perfect Night’
For your listening pleasure, “Perfect Night,” in which Sarah Silverman recounts the benefits of skipping the club for the couch. Because this is a Silverman production you can expect references…
Maccabi Tel Aviv back on top but coach future uncertain
Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have reasserted their dominance of Israeli soccer but media reports on Tuesday suggested they might have to continue their revival without coach Oscar Garcia.
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
- BLOGS
State 194: A Documentary About Palestine
Opening this weekend at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 is a very hot-button new documentary called State 194, which follows the recent history of Palestine. Many will approach this film with…
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
What would my Israeli grandmother think?
When I hear about the latest events in Israel – the air strikes on weapons facilities in Syria, the flare-ups over women donning prayer shawls at the Western Wall –…
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Survivor: Irene Rosenberg
“Mommy, I’ll be right back.” Irene Rosenberg — then Irene Grunfeld — said as she was leaving the apartment of her cousin Mancy Weiss, where she and her mother were staying temporarily.
Elul and Jewish pluralism
A typical study session for Elul, a pluralistic Israel-based beit midrash (house of study), doesn’t confine itself to a discussion of Abraham’s journey in Genesis.
A mitzvah called shmooze
In a crummy economy, people are always looking for good investments — a promising stock, a real estate opportunity, a star mutual fund. It’s really not that different in the “mitzvah economy”— donors and do-gooders are also looking to squeeze the maximum amount of goodness out of every charity investment.
How to become a Jew
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 period of time, and other people enroll in group classes designed especially for converts.
Torah Flight
Marianne Williamson’s religious revolution
Learning how to respond to sin
Everyone has their moments of failure, when they transgress. Not necessarily out of malice, but in response to temptation or opportunity or out of fear.
Mogen David: A Sephardi, Ashkenazi and Orthodox future?
On a recent Saturday morning, at Congregation Mogen David’s Ashkenazic Shabbat service, a blond-haired girl in a shimmery pink sundress tugged at the fringes of a man’s tallit (prayer shawl). The tallit belonged to Alex Katz, and he tried to ignore her entreaties as he led 90 people in the social hall in the prayer for the United States.
Flowers For Pesach: part 1
2013 Passover calendar
Celebrate Passover, Shabbat and family during a Tot Shabbat with Rabbi Karen Bender, Cantor Alison Wissot and Len Levitt and the Levitty Puppets. Sat. 9:30 a.m. Free. Temple Judea, 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana. (818) 758-3800. templejudea.com.
I Make Plans. God Changes Them.
Old Stomping Grounds
For Chabad misfits, a place to call home
On a freezing Friday night in Brooklyn, a group of 18 Crown Heights residents scurry through the crowds of Jews leaving synagogue and make their way to a second-story apartment on Rogers Avenue for Shabbat dinner.
From Kosher to Jew-ish
Northeast Jews brace for ‘historic’ blizzard
Some synagogues have cancelled services ahead of a potentially historic blizzard.
Nice Jewish goys
On a recent Friday night, a group of 20-something foodies gathered to celebrate Shabbat.
Hardship and rebirth: Parashat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16)
In these dark, cold days of winter, it’s so easy to lose hope. Add to this the hardships of loss, with which life seems intent on liberally sprinkling our lives, and we get something akin to paralysis. We may feel like a tree in winter, shorn of its leaves, standing still like death. Will spring ever come, and will we survive until it does?
Birthright Shabbat, Part 2
I don’t often write about the same subject in consecutive weeks, but because my “Birthright Shabbat” column last week elicited an unusual amount of feedback, I thought I’d share some of it with you, as well as build on the idea.
Security guard arrested for vandalizing Memphis yeshiva’s Torahs at hotel
A Memphis yeshiva’s Shabbat retreat was disrupted when a hotel security guard was arrested for vandalizing Torah scrolls and other property belonging to the school.
One Israeli Creation for the Weekend
The Challah King of Beverly Hills
The first time Chris Brugler ever made challah, it was for Shabbat dinner at the private home where he had just been hired as a personal chef.
Principled rabbis; Important, but flawed statement
I have celebrated Shabbat several times at Manhattan’s B’nai Jeshurun synagogue, affectionately known as BJ.
Chanukah in Chad
It is late into the evening, and I just remembered – tonight is the first night of Chanukah, even in the seemingly God-forsaken town of Farchana on the eastern rim of Chad.
For Jewish Deadheads, the music plays on
As a gentle snow fell on the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center last Friday evening, some 85 people gathered inside a wooden lodge to welcome Shabbat -- half in a meditation circle in which Grateful Dead lyrics served as a kind of mantra, the other in a more "traditional" service where the Lecha Dodi prayer was sung to the tune of the Dead classic "Ripple."
In Marseille, one of France’s poorest cities, Jewish charity is booming
Standing with dozens of hungry people in a
breadline, Collette Quidron counts her blessings.
Truth and consequences: When Hamas targeted The Holy City
Jerusalemites have an age-old custom of ushering in the holy Sabbath earlier — a full 36 minutes before sunset — than anywhere else in the world.
My Single Peeps: Shmush S.
How do you grow up one of 12 kids in a house full of people, with a congregational rabbi father who hosts strangers for weekly Shabbat meals at home, and still feel ill-equipped talking to women?
Recipe for marijuana cholent
Now that the states of Colorado and Washington have legalized the recreational use and commercial sale of marijuana for its residents 21 years or older, there are all sorts of way to get creative in incorporating the new legal substance with Jewish edibles. Here's a recipe for Happy Chulent that one seasoned "cook" shared with the JTA -- he guarantees it will uplift your Shabbat spirits.
Day 85 - Why I’m Reading the Whole Talmud… Again
Election 2012: What no president can do
As I write this, I still don’t know who’s won the presidency. But by the time you read this, barring an Electoral College tie, you certainly will know.
Federation Shabbat initiative gets grand response
Last year, on a Friday night, Margy Feldman was in her backyard when she heard her next-door neighbors singing “Shalom Aleichem.”
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Heroes in waiting
The best parts of the Noah story are not found in the Torah verses, but in the stories we weave between them. Classical midrashim and the movie “Evan Almighty” help us answer such questions as: How did all those animals get along on the ark, and who cleaned up after them? How did Noah build such a humongous vessel all by himself?
Shalhevet student journalists get the OK to attend award ceremony on Shabbat
Last week in these pages, we reported that The Boiling Point, the Shalhevet High School student newspaper, is one of nine finalists for the prestigious National Scholastic Press Association’s Pacemaker award, but that since the prize will be announced on Nov. 17, a Saturday, the student journalists’ ability to attend still needed rabbinic authorization.
A young chef’s guide to the Rosh Hashanah meal
Considering the history of the Jewish people, the fact that Jews are still celebrating the High Holy Days today is a miracle in itself. Strong traditions and lasting rituals have enabled Jews to survive the most threatening periods of history. With the freedoms we have as modern American Jews, it makes sense that we use these same traditions and rituals to enjoy holidays to the fullest. As a chef and registered foodie, the best way I know to relish in the upcoming holidays is by making really delicious food.
Conditionally unconditional
Dear Mom: It's been a long time coming, but I owe you an apology. There have been simply too many jokes at your expense, like the time you told your friends I was such a devoted son that I spend $150 on you every week — talking to my therapist.
Thirsting for Shabbat
Is Israel giving in to Jewish fundamentalism?
The British Economist is conducting a public debate on the following: “Is Israel succumbing to Jewish fundamentalism?” You can vote (I’d expect Economist readers will largely vote yes), you can read the ongoing debate between Avraham Burg (the “left” — voting yes) and Daniel Gordis (the “right” — voting no). You can read the background material, including the special report on the state of Judaism and the Jews, written by my former boss, former colleague and current friend David Landau.
The Jews of Kaifeng
Jewish liturgy and ritual frequently remind us that the Israelites were scattered to the “four corners of the earth,” as symbolized by the four fringes of the tallit, or prayer shawl. The extent of the geographic dispersion of the Jews over millennia has been vast, ranging from Baghdad to Burma, Marrakesh to Melbourne, Jerusalem to Los Angeles.
A Shabbat prayer for the victims of the Sikh shooting
This prayer was written to recite for the victims and survivors of the August 5, 2012 shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin. Rabbi Naomi Levy, spiritual leader of Nashuva, wrote the prayer on behalf of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, which distributed it to congregations around the world.
Survivor: Sol Berger
“Where are the dollars?” two plainclothes Gestapo officers demanded as they appeared without warning on both sides of Sol Berger. Sol denied any knowledge, even though the daughter of a local currency dealer was hovering nearby at the train station in Tarnow, Poland, holding the dollars he desperately needed to immigrate to Palestine.
My mother for president
As I was reading about how America is now borrowing $250 million an hour just to stay afloat, I thought of something that my 79-year-old mother did recently at the Pico Glatt Mart. She had just flown in from Montreal, and when I told her we were expecting 20 people the following night for Shabbat, she suggested we go right to the market and not waste any time.
On Friday night, Aug. 3 JewishJournal.com will live stream Nashuva's Shabbat services from The Brentwood Presbyterian Church. Join Rabbi Naomi Levy for high-energy service combining charismatic preaching, traditional prayer and meditation, along with a heavy infusion of musical styles, from reggae to klezmer, performed by the Nashuva band.
Peres cancels Olympics participation to avoid desecrating Shabbat
Israeli President Shimon Peres canceled his participation in the 2012 Olympic Games in London after failing to find a way to attend the opening ceremony without desecrating the Jewish Sabbath.
On Friday night, July 6 JewishJournal.com will live stream Nashuva's Shabbat services from The Brentwood Presbyterian Church. Join Rabbi Naomi Levy for high-energy service combining charismatic preaching, traditional prayer and meditation, along with a heavy infusion of musical styles, from reggae to klezmer, performed by the Nashuva band.
[UPDATED] Minus the eruv, no excuses
When construction for the widening of the 405 Freeway put the Los Angeles Community Eruv out of operation for Shabbat on June 15, it added some complications to the Sabbath plans of some observant Jewish Angelenos. But probably few more so than Elliot Katzovitz, who was among those involved in designing the eruv about a decade ago.
[UPDATED] Highway construction downs L.A. Eruv for Sabbath
The Los Angeles Community Eruv, which allows observant Jews to carry items within its restricted boundaries on the Sabbath, will not be in operation on the Shabbat that starts at sundown today, June 15 due to a break caused by construction on the 405 Freeway, according to a posting on the eruv’s website, laeruv.com.
On Friday night, June 15 JewishJournal.com will be airing a live stream of Temple Judea's Shabbat services.
Romney, guarded about Mormonism, faces a challenge
Mitt Romney’s Lacrosse moment awaits him. The Democratic convention in Los Angeles was where Joe Lieberman made history as the first Jewish candidate on a major ticket on Aug. 17, 2000. But two days later, history came to life in Lacrosse, Wis., the little college town where he walked — and pointedly did not drive — to the local synagogue on his first post-nomination Shabbat.
N.Y. attorney general settles with company over Shabbat dispute
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement with a company accused of discriminating against a Shabbat-observant employee.
Drama queens
One of the biggest and most obvious challenges in raising Jewish awareness and building Jewish connection is finding ways of getting your point across. Every week, across Los Angeles, there are hundreds of classes and sermons that aim specifically to do that: get a Jewish point across. This could be a Shabbat sermon on the parasha of the week, or weekday classes on raising Jewish children, improving your marriage, refining your character, connecting to Jewish peoplehood and so on.
On Friday night, June 8 JewishJournal.com will be airing a live stream of Beth Chayim Chadishim's Shabbat services.
On Friday night, June 1 JewishJournal.com will live stream Nashuva's Shabbat services from The Brentwood Presbyterian Church. Join Rabbi Naomi Levy for high-energy service combining charismatic preaching, traditional prayer and meditation, along with a heavy infusion of musical styles, from reggae to klezmer, performed by the Nashuva band.
Lessons My Grandfather Taught Me
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 five years before I was born, and I was born on the anniversary of his burial. But from earliest childhood, I felt that my grandfather was present, teaching me the values that helped shape my life.
Thou Shall Unplug: National Day of Tech Detox, Nurturing, and Community March 23-24
Herzliya votes to run buses on Shabbat
The city of Herzliya will ask Israel's Ministry of Transportation to approve a permit to run city buses on Shabbat.
The lessons of the Beren accommodation
On the morning of Feb. 28, 2012, Alyza Lewin of the law firm Lewin & Lewin invited me to participate in a conference call to discuss a burgeoning controversy involving the basketball team of the Robert M. Beren Academy, an Orthodox Jewish School in Houston, Texas.
Orthodox school falls short in Texas tournament
The Robert M. Beren Academy of Houston lost, 46-42, to Abilene Christian in the 2A private and parochial boys basketball state championship game.
Shabbat conflict sends Beren Academy hoops squad to the sidelines
Chris Cole, the coach of the boys' basketball team at the Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, says his squad is peaking coming off its 27-point victory in the state tournament quarterfinals.
Finding their place [VIDEO]
Lauren Levine is settling in with a group of friends apartment to watch “American Idol,” when a look of panic comes over her face. She rummages around, finds her keys and darts out.“I left the hair thing on,” she says when she returns, breathless, from her own apartment downstairs. “I was straightening Jasmine’s hair before we came up here, and I forgot to turn it off. Wow. That was close.” Levine has wide blue eyes accentuated with sparkly eye shadow, and her voice is spiced with a sense of interested wonder.
Tel Aviv seeks approval to run buses on Shabbat
The Tel Aviv City Council approved a resolution to allow public transportation to run on Shabbat. The measure was approved Monday evening by a vote of 13-7.
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