Shimshonit
Israelis in Captivity
I received an email yesterday from my rav in America announcing a worldwide prayer/tehillim recitation on behalf of abducted Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Schalit. At 11 AM (Eastern time) on Wednesday, 2 July 2008, Jews everywhere are asked to recite Psalm 121. (This translates into 8 AM on the West Coast, 4 PM [...]
The (non-)Future of Yiddish
“Why don’t you learn Yiddish?” my mother has asked me countless times. “If people don’t learn it anymore, it will just disappear.”
She’s right, of course. Aside from a few impressive efforts to fan the embers of Yiddish theater and music, or to consolidate the world’s diminishing supply of Yiddish books, Yiddish shows every [...]
The Lost Leaders in Contemporary Orthodoxy
In some ways, there’s never been a better time to be Orthodox. For those who don’t fancy living in Israel, there are many thriving Diaspora communities, especially in the U.S. (Think not only New York, Chicago, and L.A, but also Boca Raton, Las Vegas, and Atlanta). Day schools are being built all over, and kosher [...]
Bayit Shlishi: The Challenge of the Third Temple
One topic I’ve found that is sure to mix it up at any Shabbos table (no matter what the brand of Judaism of the people sitting around it) is that of Bayit Shlishi, the Third Temple. Since 1967, Israel has (technically) had the opportunity to build the Third Temple, but for a host of reasons [...]
Updated: Our New Poll: How Do You Define Judaism?
Updated by Avi @ 2:50 Pacific Time:
There were several problems with the original version of our latest post which I was unable to fix. So I ended up deleting it. Unfortunately we had about nine votes already cast which were lost. If you voted earlier today and see that you are able to vote [...]
Population concerns and the Jew
A recent Jerusalem Post (16 May 2008) included a guest column by journalist Ira Rifkin. He addresses some of the current concerns about food and fuel shortages around the world, especially in areas that are populous but poor in natural resources. This is truly a topic of concern these days, and should be addressed on [...]
Happy Lag B’omer!
One of my hobbies (a bit gentler than writing for this blog or kicking padded assailants in self defense class) is cake decorating. I find the Jewish holidays a frequent source of inspiration.
Here is a cake I made for Lag B’Omer: mocha rum cake with 60% cacao ganache icing, with dyed buttercream frosting stones and [...]
Don’t Worry. Be Israeli!
As a sort of companion post to Avi’s Jerusalem video, I wanted to share an article I recently came across from the online Asia Times, entitled “Why Israel is the world’s happiest country.”
It’s rare to think of Israel in any terms other than negative ones these days. Our unenviable geographic position, our corrupt government, the [...]
Rabbinic Authority and the Convert
One of the questions I was asked in my first (of three) meetings with the beit din at my conversion dealt with what I would do if I had a question regarding Jewish ritual. “Would you look it up yourself, or would you ask a rabbi?” asked the black-coated, bearded personage on the dais.
Now, I [...]
Commemoration
Years ago, when I belonged to a Reform synagogue in the U.S., I went to the rabbi’s weekly Torah study for adults on Sunday mornings. On one such morning, while waiting for the rabbi, the students began a conversation that eventually steered around to the Shoah (Holocaust). Never an easy phenomenon to contemplate [...]