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End of the Road for Jumbo’s, Miami Soul Food Joint That Battled Segregation
The line went out the door and around the building when Jumbo’s, an iconic soul food joint in Miami’s downtrodden Liberty City, closed in July. But many of the customers who came for a final taste of the James Beard Award-winning restaurant’s signature fried shrimp, fried conch, pigeon peas or collard greens had no idea…
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Was Herod Ripped Off by Western Wall Builders?
(Haaretz) — Some of the stones of the Western Wall are of lesser quality than others, according to new research, and may indicate that the contractors of the Second Temple were not above cheating their royal client, Herod the Great. “It started with a simple question. We looked at the Western Wall and saw that…
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Guardian Will Run Elie Wiesel ‘Child Sacrifice’ Gaza War Ad
The Guardian has agreed to run an advertisement accusing Hamas of “child sacrifice” after another British newspaper, The Times, refused to print it. The ad, written by Nobel prize-winning author Elie Wiesel, calls on President Barack Obama and other world leaders to condemn Hamas’ “use of children as human shields.” “In my own lifetime, I…
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Two Women and Two Faiths — One Shared Path
On the surface, Frimet Goldberger and Rachel Brown seem to have little in common. Goldberger, 28, grew up in the Satmar Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel, in upstate New York. Brown, 30, was raised in Ogden, Utah, in a devout Mormon household. Yet the two have a shared path: Both left their respective religious groups…
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Why the Hebrew Numbers Six and Seven Sound Almost English
Charles McLagan writes: “I am curious about the Hebrew numbers shesh and sheva [six and seven] and their other Semitic equivalents. They are clearly related to the English six and seven, and to like-sounding words for these two numbers in additional Indo-European languages. I wonder if you have any idea of how this came to…
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Police Probe Dan Markel Link to ‘Get’ Extortion Rabbis
In the days before his murder, Florida law professor Dan Markel was hired as a legal consultant in an explosive New Jersey divorce extortion case involving several Orthodox rabbis. Markel, who was gunned down outside his Tallahassee, Florida home on July 18, had been in touch with Rabbi Martin Wolmark, one of ten men arrested…
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Counter-Culture Spirit Lives as Boston’s Havurah Shalom Hits Middle Age
(JTA) — To certain first-time visitors to Havurat Shalom, the congregation’s prayer room may look remarkably familiar. From the macrame Jewish star adorning the ark and the Middle Eastern-style lamp serving as a ner tamid to the pillows on a bare floor and the sparely decorated walls, the room looks exactly as it does in…
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Luring Young Boston Jews With ‘Beer Mitzvahs’ and Shabbat in Bars
(JTA) — One recent Tuesday evening, a group of about two dozen Jews in their 20s and 30s huddled around wooden tables poring over the text for the week’s Torah portion. A rabbi prodded them with questions about the petition that Zelophehad’s daughters submitted to Moses to inherit their father’s estate. Why do they petition…
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Dan Markel Killing Leaves Behind Puzzling Questions — and Wrenching Grief
The three weeks that have passed since the murder of Florida law professor Dan Markel have done little to lift the shroud of mystery surrounding the case. A brilliant legal mind deeply immersed in the life of his local Jewish community in Tallahassee, Markel is still being mourned by friends and colleagues who already miss…
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Israel Ambassador Slams United Nations For ‘Complicity’ In Hamas Existence
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations slammed its members for “their complicity in allowing organizations like Hamas to continue to exist in the Middle East.” Ron Prosor spoke Wednesday at a special General Assembly session on Gaza. “This institution was founded to stand for truth, for justice, and for moral clarity. This is no longer…
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What If My Roommates Smoke Pot on Shabbat?
The Seesaw is a new kind of advice column in which a a broad range of columnists will address the real life issues faced by interfaith couples and families. Join the discussion by commenting on this post, sharing it on Facebook or following the Forward on Twitter. And keep the questions coming. You can email…
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