There’s an article on Israel Matzav discussing the troubling political atmosphere at Hebrew Union College, and it raises what I think is an interesting question. Should rabbis preach about political issues from the bimah? The answer to this question is, I believe, no. I believe this for a few reasons. First, the synagogue is a [...]
Browsing Posts tagged Judaism
Charles Taylor, the former dictator of Liberia who is currently imprisoned in the Hague awaiting trial by the special court for Sierra Leone, has decided to convert to Judaism. According to the BBC, one of his wives reports that he is now practicing Judaism, but still believes in Jesus. In other words, he wants to [...]
Here’s another anti-tech alert. Why doesn’t this surprise me? Rabbinic Conversion Court judges are more likely to reject prospective converts who were partially trained via the Internet, a senior source in the Conversion Authority said Sunday. According to the source, about 70% of prospective converts who are interviewed by the conversion court are accepted. However, [...]
Here’s another anti-tech alert. Why doesn’t this surprise me? Rabbinic Conversion Court judges are more likely to reject prospective converts who were partially trained via the Internet, a senior source in the Conversion Authority said Sunday. According to the source, about 70% of prospective converts who are interviewed by the conversion court are accepted. However, [...]
Cross-currents has published an article by Rabbi Avi Shafran on intelligent design, which I think is worth a read, whether you agree or disagree with ID. The Rabbi gives a perspective on the controversy from the writings of Maimonides, one of Judaism’s greatest scholars. The article was originally published in the Jewish Observer. La Shawn [...]
Not that I want to bring it up again, but the execution of Tookie Williams has, due to its media attention, rekindled the debate on whether capital punishment is a just penalty for crimes like murder. Both sides seek to bolster their claims by citing Biblical passages, and it seems the favorite of the opponents [...]
This post present a proof against the Ducomentary Hypothesis I’ve never considered. For those who don’t know, the Documentary Hypothesis states that the first five books of the Bible, (the Torah), were actually written by several persons, and then edited together by a redactor at some point. Proponents of the theory support their assertions by [...]
hannahsarah wonders;-{ why it seems that, whenever someone declines an offer of food, (either for him/herself or a child), and sites health reasons, it’s fine, while siting religious reasons creates problems. I have to ask the same question. Whe I converted to Judaism, I of course started to keep kosher to some degree, not eating [...]
This is one of the funniest, and most insightful pieces I’ve read in a while. I couldn’t resist posting it. Enjoy. Church diaries You’ve all heard the rumor: Church is more fun than synagogue. But is it really true? Well, we figured there was only one way to find out. Over the course of this [...]
From The Shema Yisrael Torah Network Dear Friends, One can imagine the pride that the farmer feels when – after all his hard work – the first fruits of the harvest appear. This pride can lead the farmer to feel that he is the master and owner of the land, as well as the source [...]
