UJC Launches Search A search process has begun to find the next president of the United Jewish Communities, widely viewed as the toughest job in American Jewish communal life. While the process is still in its initial stages, speculation is focusing on Robert Aronson to become the next top professional of UJC, the roof body…
Over drinks with a leading Bible scholar and a ketubah designer, the conversation segued seamlessly from little-known female prophets of biblical times to Temple prostitutes and then to whom we would choose to be if we could travel back into antiquity. The Bible professor said a scribe; the ketubah designer said a weaver, and I…
One of America’s most liberal, mainstream Christian denominations is stirring controversy with its support for a congregation in suburban Philadelphia devoted to what it terms “Messianic Judaism.” Congregation Avodat Yisrael, which blends Christian worship with Jewish traditions such as Friday-night services and High Holy Day observance, held its first services on Rosh Hashana with generous…
For Shemini Atzeret Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17; Numbers 29:35-30:1 For Simchat Torah Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12; Genesis 1:1-2:3; Numbers 29:35-36:1 * * *| Some time ago, somewhere in a country that gets very cold, two Learned Men — you can tell they are learned from the way they tug at their beards; you can tell there are two of…
Holiday Howard: Former Vermont governor Howard Dean is visiting a sukkah in the Empire State. The Democratic frontrunner will spend some time October 17 at the sukkah of Lincoln Square Synagogue, a Modern Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, mingling with Rabbi Adam Mintz and students. Afterward, he will repair to a room in…
“Leyner Dermonen zikh Lider” (“Readers Recall Songs”) is a recurrent feature in the Yiddish Forward. Yosef Rosenblum, a concentration camp survivor who now lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, recently wrote a column about the following song. He asked readers whether they recalled hearing it; if so, where, and if they knew who the author…
JERUSALEM — When Arnold Schwarzenegger came under fire during the California recall campaign for past remarks praising Adolf Hitler’s speaking skills and former Austrian president Kurt Waldheim, his staunchest defender was the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Schwarzenegger appeared to return the favor last week when he announced the formation of his 68-member transition team. The governor-elect…
More than 100 guests with stratospheric pedigrees crowded the spectacular New York Times penthouse where its chairman, Arthur Ochs “Punch” Sulzberger, hosted the September 24 reception for the Columbia/Barnard Hillel Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life (whose executive committee he chairs). Robert Kraft, chairman of the Kraft Group, owner of the New England Patriots who…
WASHINGTON — A Republican congressman is pushing to abolish all congressional ethnic caucuses, arguing that these hubs of minority political power perpetuate racial divisions in America. The proposal, made by Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, drew criticism and ridicule on Capitol Hill. Tancredo launched his effort two days before the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic…
Back when the times they were a changin’, Reform Judaism stood at society’s political and social vanguard. Yet the movement’s religious framework remained 19th-century classical Reform — an attempt to achieve a more rational, modern Judaism by emphasizing decorum over fervor and eschewing many traditional rituals and customs. The approach bored young congregants immersed in…
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — At the recent High Holy Day services at Temple Sinai, the usual mixture of Hebrew and English echoed throughout the Conservative synagogue’s sanctuary. But, for a portion of the service, a new language was added to the mix: Spanish. Temple Sinai is one of a growing number of South Florida synagogues responding…
