By DEBORAH FINEBLUM (JNS) – You shall love the convert for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.— Deuteronomy 10:19 There was a moment some 2,500 years ago when a recently widowed Moabite princess refused to abandon her aging mother-in-law and return home—a moment that made history as she became the first convert in recorded Jewish history. Ruth’s words—“Where you […]

By Rabbi Dr. RAYMOND APPLE In the synagogue in which I was brought up, Shavuot attracted a much smaller crowd than any other festival. My rabbi held office at that synagogue for many decades and his verdict was simple: “It’s just like Cinderella”. In the old fairy tale Cinderella was the poor girl whom nobody valued until at last she […]

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative” May 26, 2020, https://bit.ly/36vxcHv More on Jewish holidays: Smashwords, Amazon 1. Impact on the formation of the US The holiday of Shavou’ot (Pentecost) commemorates the legacy of Moses – the Exodus, the Ten Commandments and the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) -which had a significant impact on the key […]

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative” May 21, 2020, https://bit.ly/2LPFZKZ The mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) – 3,000ft above the Jordan Valley and 2,000ft above Israel’s heavily populated coastal plain – constitute the “Golan Heights” of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, the key north-south transportation artery Highway 6, critical commercial and defense […]

By HENRY ABRAMSON NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Jewish colleges and universities and departments of Jewish studies may be guided by the core values of traditional religious texts, but their specific tools for survival in the post-COVID-19 era will probably be taken from the pages of the Chronicle of Higher Education rather than the Shulchan Aruch.  The challenges to higher […]

By JOSEFIN DOLSTEN NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Renee Godinez had completed nearly all the steps to becoming Jewish before the coronavirus pandemic erupted earlier this spring. She had studied extensively with Rabbi Rick Winer of Temple Beth Israel in Fresno, Calif., and adopted Jewish practices in her life. All that was missing was a ceremony to mark the end […]

By DAVID SUISSA (Jewish Journal via JNS) – For centuries, Jewish life revolved around a glorious piece of real estate—the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Jewish holidays, holy rituals, sacrifices, prayers, priestly blessings, communal gatherings, etc., all happened at the Temple. Adaptations When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., Judaism and the Jewish people were forced to adapt. We […]

[more in May 19, 11:00AM Webinar: Palestinian state and US interests] Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative” May 17, 2020, https://bit.ly/2ZnY231 *Notwithstanding Saudi philo-Palestinian talk, Riyadh considers the Palestinian issue a low priority.  It ranks significantly lower than the clear and present lethal threat posed by Iran’s Ayatollahs; the potential tectonic eruption in Iraq; the lethal threat […]

By MARCY OSTER NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – When Rabbi Moshe Hauer recently told Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top health advisor, that synagogues wouldn’t let congregants sit within 8 feet of each other once services resume, he wasn’t just making a joke about Jews’ tendency toward closeness. He was also previewing a set of formal guidelines that the organization […]

By MARILYN SHAPIRO Some day—hopefully in the near future—the COVID-19 pandemic will be behind us. Medical interventions to those infected will alleviate the pain, suffering, and deaths. A vaccine may be developed that can prevent others from becoming ill. Social distancing will no longer be necessary. We can go back to our lives, our jobs, our schools, our vacations, and […]