Jewish News

Protestors rally against Orthodox Jews’ Kaparot Ritual In Crown Heights

Protestors rallied against an Orthodox Jewish ritual in Brooklyn today that involves slaughtering chickens for Yom Kippur. The custom, called kaporos, is a form of sacrifice performed before the Jewish Day of Atonement in which it is believed one’s sins are symbolically transferred to the bird. The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is protesting the ritual, calling the treatment ...

President Barack Obama’s Rosh Hashanah Greeting

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued a video greeting to the Jewish people in honor of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. “As the high holy days begin, it’s a chance not just to celebrate with family and friends, but to ask some of life’s most piercing questions,” said Obama. “Am I treating strangers with kindness? Am I living ...

Progressives Welcome Conservative Gay Weddings

Leaders of progressive Jewish movements in Israel as well as gay rights groups welcomed the adoption of guidelines for wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples by the Conservative Judaism movement in the US. The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards – which rules on the Conservative stream’s stance on matters of Jewish law – voted on Thursday to provide ...

Pope Intervening in Poland Kosher Slaughter Law, Jewish Group Says

The World Jewish Congress has said the Vatican is getting involved in a divisive issue in Poland over its ban on the ritual slaughter of animals, which has incensed Jews. The group said Monday that Pope Francis instructed the Vatican office in charge of relations with Jews to host a meeting next week to discuss the ban, which Jews consider ...

Op-Ed: An Average Crown Heights Voter’s Thoughts on Today’s Election

Today is primary day in New York City. Each party will be picking their candidates for the general election, which will be held November 5th. Some of my friends have been asking me, whom I think they should support in the Democratic primaries. I thought it would be nice to share my view on the primary election from the perspective of an average voter in Crown Heights. The following is whom I, as ...

Obama has Pre-Rosh Hashanah Conference Call with Nearly 1,000 Rabbis

President Obama reflected on the High Holidays and offered New Year’s greetings in a conference call with nearly 1,000 rabbis. Obama in the call on Friday afternoon extended the greetings on behalf of himself and the first lady for a sweet, happy and healthy New Year. He noted that the Jewish High Holy Days provide an opportunity for Jews to ...

North Carolinians Welcome New Torah

Some 300 community members and guests turned out for a special Torah dedication ceremony, parade and family fun fair at Chabad in Greensboro, NC. The ceremony marked the completion of a brand new Torah scroll that will now find its home in the shul at the Chabad center, which is run by Rabbi Yosef and Hindy Plotkin. The new Torah ...

New Torah for Nosson Deitsch Completed

For a year, scribes armed with only quill pens and a specially mixed ink have been busy re-creating the more than 300,000 handwritten letters that make up the Torah scroll for Chabad of Brandon, Florida. Now, with the completion of the work featuring the five books of Moses on 54 pieces of parchment, Chabad of Brandon is preparing to celebrate ...

N. Orlando Celebrates Commencement of First Torah

Florida governor Rick Scott declared Sunday to be “Torah Day.” The proclamation honored the North Orlando Chabad community and the inauguration of the congregation’s first torah dedicated by Zvi and Dawn Shamu and Paul Sebag. Scott “extended greetings and best wishes upon” Rabbi Yanky Majesky and wife Chanshy on their commitment “to bringing the joy of Judaism” to residents of ...

Moscow Mayoral Candidate did not Praise Holocaust, Jewish Staffers Say

Jewish staffers for the campaign of Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny denied reports that he praised the Holocaust. “To my knowledge, he never made the statement attributed to him,” Maxim Katz, deputy director of the Navalny campaign for the Sept. 8 election, told JTA on Tuesday. Katz, 29, a Moscow politician who lived in Israel for nine years, was responding ...

Masorti Groups to Avoid Hotels Denying Torahs

The Rabbinical Assembly, an international association of Conservative rabbis, announced last week at its annual conference in Atlanta that it would be advising all Conservative and Masorti Jewish groups to patronize only those hotels that make their Torah scrolls available for them to use. Masorti is the name given to the Conservative movement outside of North America. The association said ...

Korean Jewish Community Welcomes First Torah Scroll

The Jewish Community of Korea welcomed its first-ever Torah scroll at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on Sunday, The Korea Herald reported. “I’m delighted,” said Rabbi Osher Litzman of the Korean Jewish community. “We have waited a long time for this to happen and now it’s finally here. It’s a big milestone in the development of our Jewish community.” Rabbi ...