This Hanukkah, Light One Candle for the Rohingya People
Crises often continue long after they disappear from the headlines, and the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Burma is no exception.
Galilee Diary: Seasons greetings
You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me; for you will serve their gods - and it will prove a snare to you.
-Exodus 23:32-33
The History of Hanukkah Gifts: Is This Custom Really a Jewish One?
Going to Temple? Bring a Friend!
When we love something, we want to share it – so why not be inspired to bring our Jewish friends into the kehilla kedosha (holy community), embracing them within a wonderful, sacred congregation?
Marilyn Monroe's Prayer Book is Up for Auction
The upcoming auction of Marilyn Monroe’s personal prayer book is making news. The siddur contains many pencil notations in the margins from when she was learning about Judaism
Galilee Diary: Uncertainty Principle
The details of the lunar cycle have been understood for thousands of years.
From Blasphemy to Blasphemous: An Instructive Transition
In Parashat Emor, the Torah reports that a man born of mixed Israelite-Egyptian descent “blasphemed the Name [of God],” was placed on trial, and was stoned to death. A law was then enacted that anyone, Jewish or gentile, who blasphemes the name of God shall be put to death. Over time, in communities throughout the world, laws against blasphemy were put in place to address curses leveled at God as well as perceived slights against some religions.
Hanukkah
"Dedication;" the joyous eight-day celebration during which Jews commemorate the victory of the Macabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.