Forward.com

Shifting From Myth To Function

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:33:00 EST

Here’s a simple question: What does spirituality do? Television entertains, travel inspires, law patrols the boundaries — but what about the practices of religion? What purpose do they serve?

For Students, A Spiritual Journey Through the Wilderness

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:32:00 EST

Nearly two dozen teenagers looked out over the ravine at Bear Mountain in New York, pausing from their hike to take in the vista of treetops spreading out in front of them.

Making Jewish Beliefs Accessible To More

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:31:00 EST

At a time when many pulpit rabbis have fewer congregants to attend to, a Jewish institution is urging them to turn their attention to a larger flock — American society.

Portrait of the Rabbi as an Artist Explaining Another Artist’s Portrait

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EST

Poem

Getting Serious About Love

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:24:00 EST

In a recent sermon, up-and-coming rabbi David Ingber complained, “You never hear about love in Jewish newspapers.” Part of the reason for this is, of course, that love is rarely newsworthy; crisis is just better press. But it is true, in the Jewish world, that religiously, intellectually and culturally, love isn’t serious.

Leader of American Hasidic Dynasty Leaves the States

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:21:00 EST

When most people think of Hasidic dynasties, what come to mind are the consonant-rich Ukrainian villages after which so many are named, like Vizhnitz, Munkacz and Skver. American cities have also produced Hasidic lineages, the most famous of which has been based in Boston for a half-century and led by the charismatic Levi Yitzchak Horowitz. But due to poor health, the Bostoner rebbe, as Levi Yitzchak is commonly known, has relocated to Israel, leaving members of the community to speculate over the future of the group.

Retailer Takes Caring for Employees to New Heights

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:19:00 EST

If you are an employee at a leading Florida furniture chain and have a bone to pick, you might take your grievance to human resources. Then again, you might talk over the matter over with the company’s priest, its minister, or even its rabbi.

Introducing Some of the Jewish World’s Newest Rabbis

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:15:00 EST

Like many rabbinical candidates, Sara Brandes, who is about to graduate from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, originally hadn’t planned to become a rabbi. But during a year she spent in Israel after college, she discovered that her interests — which included psychology and religion — could be combined in a single job. “I just realized that in Judaism, we call this person ‘rabbi,’” Brandes said.

No Crystals Needed

Fri, 04 May 2007 14:09:00 EST

What is meditation, and why is it continuing to appear in more and more synagogues long after the Kabbalah craze and other spiritual fads have faded?

A Florida Psychologist Asks: Kabbalah With Your Sushi?

Fri, 04 May 2007 14:08:00 EST

A new beachfront restaurant in this South Florida city is billing itself as the country’s first kabbalistic restaurant.

Meet the New Rabbis — Class of 2007

Fri, 04 May 2007 14:07:00 EST

Michal Woll, a candidate for ordination at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, brings to the rabbinate years of experience dealing with medical care and quality-of-life issues. Woll, 43, began her career in the sciences, earning undergraduate degrees in chemical and biomedical engineering before completing a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She started out in the medical device industry, developing and evaluating dialysis and burn-care products. After earning yet another master’s degree — this one in physical therapy — Woll went on to work in both acute-care and geriatric facilities. While in school, she put her health care experience to work in Media, Pa., as a rabbinic intern at Martins Run Life Care Community, a residential community for seniors. In 2005, she received the Reconstructionist Student Association Tikkun Olam award for service.

D.C.-Based Minyan Mixes Shabbat With Activism

Fri, 04 May 2007 14:04:00 EST

Tikkun Leil Shabbat, a participatory prayer group, or havurah, may soon have to find a bigger space.

At Retreat, Y.U. Rabbis Talk God

Fri, 04 May 2007 13:53:00 EST

In 2005, Yeshiva University established a Center for the Jewish Future, a think tank and outreach organization seen by some as a more flexible counterweight to the university’s affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.