For its first pavilion at the prestigious Venice Biennale international art festival, the Vatican is presenting an exhibit inspired by the first book of the Torah, rather than by a New Testament theme. Called “Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation,” the three-part show in the Vatican’s pavilion will draw on the first 11 chapters of Genesis, Cardinal Gianfranco…
A Bronx synagogue suffered a terrible blow this week: the theft of three sifrey-Torah, or Torah scrolls, each one worth $45,000. The theft at the Orthodox shul, Young Israel of Mosholu Parkway, on East 208th Street in the Norwood Heights section, was discovered by a worker last Sunday. Besides the Torah scrolls, the thief also…
Within a matter of months, the congregation at Touro Synagogue will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s oldest Jewish house of worship. But the members of Congregation Jeshuat Israel, who have prayed at the Newport, R.I., building for generations, may have to celebrate outside. That’s because an argument over a dazzling pair of silver Torah…
“The Catholics have done it; the Protestants have done it; AND NOW THE JEWS ARE GOING TO DO IT!” So began a 1956 solicitation letter for, of all things, a new Jewish translation of the Bible. Fifty years have now passed since the first part of that translation, “The Torah: The Five Books of Moses,”…
Thieves stole a Brooklyn rabbi’s car, with his synagogue’s $30,000 Torah scroll stashed in the trunk. Luckily, the joy-riders were more interested in a free ride than religious edification, and never touched the holy book, which was found untouched when the car was recovered by cops, the New York Post reported. “I cannot forgive myself….
A Baltimore rabbi dubbed the ‘Jewish Indiana Jones’ for his supposed efforts hunting down torahs lost in the Holocaust, has begun a four-year federal prison sentence for fraud. Menachem Youlus began serving a 51-month prison sentence last month at the federal correctional institution (FCI) in Otisville, N.Y., the Baltimore Jewish Times reported. Convicted of two…
The leaders of two historic synagogues will hold a settlement conference over a set of ritual Torah decorations. A federal judge in Rhode Island will meet with the leaders of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., and Congregation Shearith Israel of New York on Thursday to discuss a set of 18th century Torah bells, The…
At least 63 synagogues in the New York area suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy, along with several in New Jersey, a Forward investigation reveals. UJA-Federation, which is compiling data on Hurricane Sandy’s impact on Jewish institutions, reports that so far, it has heard from 64 synagogues in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County…
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