Tag: Judaism
Tisha Be’Av: A Failed Holiday?
The year 403 BCE was momentous for the city-state of Athens. In the previous years, a bloody civil war had devastated the city and caused it to fall under the yoke of its arch-rival,...
Moses Mendelssohn: Personally observant progenitor of Reform Judaism
The son of Menachem Mendel, a Torah scribe, Moses Mendelssohn (“son of Mendel”) not only studied in yeshiva and became a promising rabbinic scholar, he also pursued secular learning, particularly languages and philosophy, studying...
‘We want to separate synagogue from state,’ say 55% of Israel’s Jewish population
More than half of Jewish Israelis are in favor of changing the current status quo on religious life in the public realm, believing that current arrangements reflect haredi or religious-Zionist values, a new poll...
Hoping your toddler will be inspired by Judaism
I was raised as a Conservative Jew. It suited my family and me well. Hebrew school a few times a week and services a few times a month. I was very active in my...
Why there is still hostility when Jews and non-Jews fall in love
There are many different ways to complete the sentence “I cannot be antisemitic because… ”. All of them are dodgy. For the liberal left, the standard answer is “because I am a committed anti-racist”....
89-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Celebrates Bar Mitzvah
WILMETTE, IL — More than three quarters of a century ago, Nazis robbed a 12-year-old Harold Katz from a chance to have a normal bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ceremony.
This Memorial Day,...
Torah rescued during Kristallnacht read during Jewish holiday
A boy salvaged a Torah from a burn pile almost 80 years ago.
Now, the scroll is touring Jewish communities around the world, including Lynnwood.
In November 1938, synagogues in Germany were set ablaze and thousands...
The uniqueness of our people
Diversity in Judaism is common in our history and liturgy. One can visit many synagogues and observe that the order of the davening and the actual siddur text are very varied from shul to...
Conversion: time to end the stigma
Last month, I did something I never thought I’d do — not publicly, anyway. Until recently, I wouldn’t have entertained the idea. But in April, I wrote in the JC about Pesach in the...
Deputy fm calls on jews to ascend temple mount on Jerusalem day
In an unprecedented move, a deputy minister of the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called on Jews to ascend the Temple Mount during Jerusalem Day on Wednesday.
Deputy Minister Tzipi Hotovely made the request at a...