Jewish Blogs

One Year Later: Empowered Judaism

About a year ago (3/2010) we received a new book as a gift: Empowered Judaism by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer with a foreword by Jonathan Sarna.Over the past year we have had some thoughts about the independent minyanim and we have watched what others are saying too.Some observations about them are just silly and superficial, like the one in the Forward ...

One Woman’s Jewish Journey

Three years ago, Mary Ruth, who attended church her entire life, began to think about Judaism. It was something she couldn’t quite explain – a tug towards a religion she didn’t fully understand, but a strong tug, nonetheless. She wanted to look into conversion, but didn’t really know where to begin – Mary Ruth lives in rural Michigan, an hour from the ...

One of the best thank notes I’ve ever recieved

Typically, when someone writes me a “thank you note” they do it in a sentence or two, thanks for making me laugh and so on. Appreciation is nice, but it’s even nicer and more inspiring when they tell me why I’ve made their lives better, makes me feel like I’m actually doing something with this whole blogging thing. I received ...

One Day You Will Call Me High Priestess Yenta

Last week on Tablet, Jeremy Gillick wrote a piece about the kohanot, or Hebrew Priestess movement:Kohenet is part of a growing, grassroots Jewish movement to reclaim the divine feminine—female aspects of God represented in Jewish texts—and reintroduce earth-based traditions to Jewish spiritual seekers.Read More: @ yoyenta.comTags: high priestess yenta, you will call me high priestessYou might also like:Flotilla MadnessJerusalem, 1995-1996: Eating Standing UpI Wonder, ...

On Yom Kippur we ask ourselves, “Where am I?”

The Chafetz Chaim once said that the telephone was invented to teach us that what is said here can be heard there. When a person speaks lashon hara or uses bad language, it’s all heard “up there.” A train teaches us the value of time. If you arrive a second late you’ve missed it. A telegram teaches us that every ...

On Yom Kippur Hashem Welcomes Us Back as His Children

One of the most moving and inspiring highlights of the Yom Kippur davening is Kol Nidrei. We preface this prayer with the words, “Al daas Hamakom, v’al daas hakahal. With the approval of the Omnipresent and with the approval of the congregation.” “Hamakom” is one of the names of Hashem, which connotes that He is found in every place. Why ...

On Writing Gadol Biographies

More than twenty years ago, I wrote an op-ed entitled, “Are Gadol Biographies Good for Us?” Little did I dream at the time that I would soon be asked to write the first of many biographies of major Jewish leaders. From that experience, I learned to be careful with my words lest they come back to haunt me.At least one ...

On Time Magazine: A Tiger Woods Swing Midrash

One of Time Magazine’s top stories this week during the Master’s Golf Tournament is the saga of “Golf: Why Tiger Woods’ Swing Overhaul May Hurt His Game.”The gist of the account is that top golfers don’t understand why the great athlete Woods is renovating his swing for a third time.It’s no great midrash to interpret what is going on with this ...

On the downtown Manhattan mosque

I was passing through downtown Manhattan recently and happened upon a huge rally of self-described patriots protesting a planned Islamic center that would be built two blocks north of the World Trade Center (known to tourists as Ground Zero). I was aware of this protest because many of the alte cockers from my shul e-mailed me about this event.Read More: @ frumsatire.netTags: downtown manhattan ...

On the Culture of Greed

A few weeks ago, I was in a meeting discussing an upcoming ballot initiative which would eliminate the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Everybody in the room was opposed to the death penalty. The discussion was about the strategy that should be employed to convince voters to make the proposition law. The campaign’s ...

On The Banks Of The Jordan River: An Idyllic Picnic Spot!

During our family outings this Pesach, we finally got a little bit acquainted with the Upper Galil, in the far north of our beautiful country. And I’m happy to say that areas that were once totally unknown are now like familiar friends. Like this gorgeous spot on the banks of the Yarden (Jordan) River which we enjoyed on not one ...

On Sukkot We Reach the Pinnacle of Joy

In Shir Hashirim, King Shlomo movingly depicts Hashem’s profound love for the Jewish people. “B’tzilo chimaditi v’yashavti…. I have desired his shade and I have dwelt there, his fruits are sweet to my palate.” Midrashicly, this refers to the mitzvot of sukka and lulav, which are our central medium of connection to Hashem on Sukkot. Why did Hashem need to ...