As the High Holidays near, some religious Jews are considering an unusual question: Are swords like jewelry? In the time of the Talmud, one stream of rabbinic thought considered swords to be an adornment — and thus permissible to carry in a synagogue on the Sabbath and holidays. After a year in which a dozen…
A man experiencing homelessness pleaded guilty on Tuesday to starting a fire that burned down a synagogue in Minnesota earlier this month, the Duluth News Tribune reported. Matthew Amiot said he was seeking shelter from the cold in a sukkah, a temporary dwelling built behind the Adas Israel Congregation in Duluth. He had tried to…
(JTA) — Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman. They said in a court filing late on Monday that “a sentence of death is justified” in 22 of the 63 federal charges against Robert Bowers, citing his premeditation, planning, anti-Semitic motivation and the number of victims. They also noted his…
(JTA) — Anti-Semitic graffiti was painted on the exterior walls of a synagogue in Connecticut. The graffiti on the Congregation Adath Israel synagogue building in Newtown was discovered at 7:30 Saturday morning. The graffiti was removed and painted over prior to the start of scheduled Shabbat services with the assistance of the town’s Public Works…
Rabbi Rachel Cowan, the mother of the “Jewish healing” movement, was hailed throughout the Jewish world for giving new life to the ancient practice of visiting a sickly person to pray over them. And in the moment she needed such prayer most desperately, it came in force — via the internet. Last year, Cowan’s friends…
A small temple over 95 years old will be closing its doors soon — but not before it donates its Torah scroll to a congregation in Montana, the St. Louis Jewish week reported. Temple Israel was once a community of 150 families that served southwestern Illinois Reform Jews with weekly services and a religious school….
(JTA) — A prominent New York synagogue has canceled a planned event featuring a mock trial in which prominent Jewish jurist Alan Dershowitz was to defend biblical characters accused of “kidnapping and child trafficking.” Temple Emanu-El’s decision came several days after Jeffrey Epstein, a former Dershowitz client and associate, was found hanged in a New…
(JTA) — Neo-Nazis affiliated with the anti-Semitic Daily Stormer Book Club plastered racist fliers on three Seattle synagogues. The fliers were posted over the weekend by a masked man and featured an illustration of Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts biting…
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