This animation for Pesach is created by Ben Baruch, a direct descendent of the Vilna Gaon, who has been asking unconventional questions about Judaism ever since he was a young boy in Yeshiva. While his queries about the Jewish faith were often met with disapproval, his passion for finding humor in religion only grew stronger….
Conservative Movement in U.S. is Here to Stayby Rabbi Alan Silverstein This article first appeared in last week’s edition of New Jersey Jewish News The so-called “Jewish telegram” reads: “Start worrying. Details to follow.” Yet as Brandeis professor Jonathan Sarna stated recently to the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, sometimes concern about possible discontinuity can be…
My personal website, JasonAMiller.com (www.jasonamiller.com), received its 10,000th unique hit today. I first launched my personal site in 1996, but didn’t start counting hits until 1998 or 1999. The counter can be seen right under the Google search bar. (c) Rabbi Jason Miller | http://blog.rabbijason.com | Twitter: @RabbiJason | facebook.com/rabbijasonmiller
I spoke last night at a vigil for Pope John Paul II at University of Michigan sponsored by the Polish Student Society. I had no reservation about speaking at this vigil as many rabbis around the world were reflecting and memorializing the Pope publicly. I spoke first and explained how meaningful it was for me…
A Trick And A Treat Elicia Brown – Special to the Jewish Week I awoke with a jolt. The press release I’d fished out of my junk folder proclaimed that The Jewish Theological Seminary would celebrate 20 years of women in the Conservative rabbinate with an “equity plan”: it would commit to equal pay for…
By Dan BaronJewish Telegraphic AgencyJERUSALEM — After 22 years of living as an Israeli, Justina Hilaria Chipana can finally consider herself a full-fledged member of the Jewish state. The 50-year-old native of Peru was one of 17 petitioners who won High Court of Justice recognition of their non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism on Thursday, in what…
From Edah On March 26, 2000, Pope John Paul II came to Jerusalem, to the heart of Israel, to that city to which all Jewish hearts have turned for 2000 years. He came to the Western Wall, adjacent to the Temple Mount. He placed a prayer in the Western Wall. It read: God of our…
University of Wisconsin-Madison Hillel Professional Goes Homeless for Habitat for Humanity By Stephanie Simon Liz Fremer, the program associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hillel, went to have her old, dying car checked out a couple of weeks ago. The amount of money needed to fix her car far exceeded the actual face value of…
From World Jewish Congress site Madonna and Ritchie under fire for Purim dresses Madonna and her husband, the filmmaker Guy Ritchie, have infuriated Catholic leaders by attending a party dressed as a nun and the Pope respectively, at a time when Pope John Paul II is becoming increasingly frail. Madonna and Ritchie were attending a…
Israel’s supreme court has ended the Orthodox monopoly on conversion to Judaism, clearing the way for recognition of conversions performed by reform or conservative rabbis in Israel, army radio reported. The verdict, which was reached by 11 judges, could have far-reaching implications for Israel’s conversion system. Until now, the country’s Orthodox community has had sole…