Ten women arrested at Western Wall for praying with prayer shawls

Published on February 11, 2013

Ten women participating in a women's prayer service with hundreds of worshippers and supporters at the Western Wall were arrested for wearing prayer shawls.

A Funny Thing Happened at the Kotel

By Susan Esther Barnes
Published on January 23, 2013

Reviving Biblical blue

By Jonathan Kirsch
Published on December 19, 2012

Blue and white are the traditional colors of the tallit, and, for that reason, the colors of the flag of Israel. And yet the ancient craft of making blue dyes for use in sacred garments was lost to the world for centuries.

Women praying to be heard at the Western Wall

By Rabbi Laura Geller
Published on December 19, 2012

We approached the entrance to the Kotel Plaza a little before 7 a.m. on Rosh Hodesh Tevet. In my bag was my tallit, the beautiful purple-and-blue one that was hand woven as a gift from the students and faculty at USC more than 20 years ago, when I completed my time there as the Hillel rabbi.

The Jews of Kaifeng

Published on August 15, 2012

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.

Woman praying in tallit detained at Western Wall, questioned by police

Published on June 21, 2012

Israeli police detained a woman wearing a tallit at the Western Wall and later questioned her for four hours.

[UPDATED] Highway construction downs L.A. Eruv for Sabbath

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on June 15, 2012

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.

Looking upon the flag

Published on November 7, 2008

The flag is like a tallit. The tallit envelops us in a physical connection to God and to the Jewish people.

Just in time for Father’s Day—a nice Official Jewish Tartan kilt!

By The Web Guy
Published on June 2, 2008

Sukkot: the beauty of fragility

By Rabbi Daniel Greyber
Published on October 5, 2006

On Sukkot, the time tradition tells us is zman simchateinu, the season of our joy, we dwell in a fragile hut, open to the winds and rain and cold of the world, to remind ourselves that our joy is enriched, is deepened, when we glimpse, if only for a moment, how weak and fragile we are.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah - A Postmodern Coming-of-Age Guide

By Sandee Brawarsky
Published on May 11, 2006

When a book on bar mitzvah opens with a poem by Rudyard Kipling and a quote from French ethical philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, it's clearly not your usual bar mitzvah book, of which there are many.

Eleven Things to Know Before You Go

By Rabbi Daniel Kohn
Published on August 7, 2003

Congratulations! You have been invited to the bar/bat mitzvah of a friend or family member. Now what?