(Illustration by Lior Zaltzman)
(JTA) — The festival of Shavuot, which begins at sundown May 30, focuses on Moses receiving the tablets of the law. But an even more fascinating part of the story is when he shatters them. In an astounding midrash, or rabbinic commentary, Moses’ act is portrayed as the epitome of loyalty… Read more »
An Israeli working with campers at the Union for Reform Judaism's 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy in New Jersey. (URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy)
(JTA) — You’ve seen the advertisements: A fit young woman pedals a stationary bicycle while an instructor on a video screen shouts encouragement. The company, Peloton, promises “fitness at your fingertips,” and both “live and on demand” spin classes and “world class instructors,” all from the comfort of your own… Read more »
Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz (Courtesy of Kotler-Berkowitz)
(JTA) — In a recent analysis of U.S. religious groups, the Pew Research Center reported that the most educated American Jews are also the least religious. In considering these findings, it’s tempting to think that secular education leads to assimilation among American Jews (I want to be clear that Pew, a… Read more »
Nechama Levy, who participates in a few Crown Heights independent prayer groups, is involved in another Brooklyn trend: Her bike shop, Bicycle Roots, is also in the neighborhood. (Courtesy of Levy)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Soon after Nechama Levy moved to Brooklyn five years ago, she opened a bicycle repair shop. The spacious, high-ceilinged store was just down the street from a new pub with exposed brick walls. Like many who have moved recently to the rapidly gentrifying borough, Levy, 33,… Read more »
The Orthodox Union is asking Maharat Ruth Friedman, left, shown at her graduation from Yeshivat Maharat in 2013, to change her title in order to comply with a rabbinic ruling that bars female clergy. (Joe Winkler)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Following its rabbinic ruling prohibiting synagogues from hiring female clergy, the Orthodox Union is pressuring synagogues that have hired the women to change their titles. In February, the Orthodox Union, an umbrella Orthodox Jewish group, issued a Jewish legal ruling by seven rabbis that bars women… Read more »
From left to right: Orna Banai, Yafit Asulin, Evelin Hagoel, Sharona Elimelech and Einat Sarouf in "The Women's Balcony." (Courtesy of Menemsha Films)
(JTA) — It’s safe to call the Israeli film “The Women’s Balcony” the opposite of a Hollywood blockbuster. The movie, directed by Emil Ben-Shimon, is a sensitive, slice-of-life story that focuses on the rift caused in a modern Orthodox community in Jerusalem when a Hasidic rabbi offers to fill… Read more »
Participants in a past Shavuot program at JCC Manhattan gather on the JCC's roof. The JCC's annual event lasts all night and features an array of classes and workshops. (Courtesy of JCC Manhattan)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Shavuot is the “Rodney Dangerfield of Jewish holidays,” says Rabbi Shira Stutman of Washington, D.C.’s Sixth and I synagogue. Meaning: It gets no respect. Considered by Jewish tradition to be on par with the fall and spring festivals of Sukkot and Passover, Shavuot is sometimes… Read more »
George Soros at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sept. 20, 2016. (Peter Foley/Pool/Getty Images)
(JTA) — On a recent Sunday, eight far-right activists filmed themselves on what they called a “raid” on the Aurora Jewish community center in Budapest. Sporting crewcuts and black clothes, the men affixed posters with a crossed-out picture of the Hungary-born Jewish American billionaire George Soros to the entrance of… Read more »
Smartphone apps can help with everything from putting on tefillin correctly to finding a minyan to locating a kosher restaurant. (Lior Zaltzman)
(JTA) — These days there are smartphone applications for pretty much anything, from ordering food to finding a date to reporting anti-Semitic incidents. But what about tools for living a religious Jewish life? Well, there are apps for that, too. Whereas in the time before smartphones, observant Jews may have… Read more »
Israeli couscous mac and cheese (Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Mac and cheese is one of those comfort food dishes that is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. So when my co-workers suggested I try a mac and cheese made with Israeli couscous instead of traditionally larger pasta like elbows or shells… Read more »
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona has launched “Bikes Without Borders” to distribute bicycles to newly arrived refugees through local refugee resettlement agencies. “Bikes Without Borders” is seeking donations of new or used adult and child-sized bicycles and helmets, locks, lights and other… Read more »
Baggage for three weeks of travel
Let’s face it — international travel has become less fun and more of an ordeal. These days air travel can be so arduous that it impacts our desire to visit distant “bucket list” destinations. Airplanes are jammed, routes are indirect, fares are higher, and a variety of fees for… Read more »
President Donald Trump greeting clergy members, including Rabbi Marvin Hier, right, in the Rose Garden at the White House, May 4, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Jewish groups largely came out against a new executive order allowing clergy to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit, fearing that it will erode the separation between church and state. The order, which President Donald Trump signed Thursday at the White House on the National… Read more »
Liev Schreiber as Chuck Wepner in the film "Chuck" (Sarah Shatz/Courtesy of IFC Films)
(JTA) — Liev Schreiber has trained as a boxer on and off for 18 years. He’s a fan of the sweet science and has played numerous tough guys on the screen — notably the prizefighter Mischa in the concentration camp movie “Jakob the Liar” and, of course, as Ray… Read more »
Cnaan Liphshiz, his wife and eldest son in a tulip field near Amsterdam, April 3, 2016. (Courtesy of Liphshiz)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Considering Marine Le Pen’s historical gains in the French presidential elections, the Dutch far-right’s rise and the assault on ritual slaughter in Belgium, this spring is shaping up to be a life-changing time for Europe — its religious minorities in particular. In other words, it’s… Read more »
Afim and Emma A. are clients in need of assistance from the Hesed social welfare in Rustavi, Georgia. (Sarah Levin of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee)
(JTA) — We Americans use the phrase “the greatest generation” to describe those who grew up during the Depression, prevailed in World War II and contributed to America’s postwar prosperity and influence. But on a visit last week to Jewish communities in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Belarus’ Minsk and… Read more »
Thom Yorke of Radiohead performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., April 21, 2017. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)
(JTA) — It may be the 20th anniversary of Radiohead’s seminal album “OK Computer,” but for some Jewish fans of the band, like me, all is not OK. You might even say I’m feeling “Let Down.” Here’s why: In February, the British band announced that it was playing Tel… Read more »
Unicorn challah (Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) — I don’t know when the craze over “unicorn foods” became the trend, but it’s hard to scroll through Facebook or visit a Starbucks without seeing an explosion of pastel colors and sweet flavors. My colleague Rachel Edelman created some eye-catching unicorn hamantaschen for Purim… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: Dr. James Zogby participates in a panel discussion about the Muslim experience in America at the Washington National Cathedral October 23, 2012 in Washington, DC. Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – The U.S. State Department’s most recent religious freedoms report includes more than 1,400 words on access to holy sites in Israel. The most recent report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has zero words on access – or on anything to do with Israel.… Read more »
Marchers protesting labor arrangements at the Jewish Theological Seminary's construction site in New York City say the building contractor violates workers' rights, May 1, 2017. (Ben Sales)
NEW YORK (JTA) — The labor rights march, held on the unofficial workers’ holiday of May 1 and embarking from the steps of the Jewish Theological Seminary here, featured signs in Yiddish and Hebrew — and included some of the seminary’s own students. But the march wasn’t celebrating the long… Read more »
