Tag: Religion
Dual loyalty?
How long have we been the “wandering Jews?” I imagine ever since Abraham, the very first Jew. His travels and travails are recounted in the Bible for all to see and our sages taught...
What’s in our Jewish DNA?
I once heard a particular story from a colleague in Johannesburg, who, like me, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He said that his grandfather was once the victim of an attempted mugging on Shabbat....
Starting in 2026, OU says only certified kosher beers at its venues, events
Historically, unflavored beers have been generally assumed to be kosher, but the stout and bitter truth is that craft brewing has introduced recipes that extend beyond water, hops, barley and yeast, per a Nov....
Looking for longevity
Sarah Cohen, age 91, was having some health issues and went to see her doctor.
“What should I tell you, Mrs Cohen?” said the doctor. “I can’t make you any younger.”
“Doctor,” said Sarah, “I don’t...
The hostages found faith in the dark, reigniting global Jewish pride
Before Oct. 7, 2023, Israel was deeply divided. Streets filled with protests, families were fractured over politics, and the sense of shared destiny, the glue that once bound the Jewish people, felt as if...
Federal court ruling equates Star of David on Israeli flag with Jewish identity
A federal judge stated earlier this month that the Star of David “symbolizes the Jewish race” and that attacking such a symbol, even on an Israeli flag, is “racial discrimination.”
Trevor McFadden, a district court...
The long road to blessings
“Behold, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing that you will listen to the commandments of God, … and the curse if you do not.” These are the opening...
Jewish visits to Temple Mount broke Tisha B’Av record
A record-breaking 4,045 Jews ascended the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem on Aug. 3 to mark Tisha B'Av, the national day of mourning, the Beyadenu religious rights group said on Sunday.
The...
Tu B’Av: The rabbis’ gentle reminder to a nation in strife
“Tu B’Av reminds us that love, despite all that we have just mourned and lost, is always possible, always triumphant.”
I’ve been waiting all year for Tu B’Av to arrive. Like a hapless romantic who...
Tisha B’Av 5785: Still, we rise
We fast. We mourn. We chant Eicha, the book of Lamentations.
We sit low to the ground and dwell in the dust of our people’s tragedies, reciting the litany of loss that has shaped the Jewish...