Judaism

On Foreign Religions And Their Influence on Judaism

Letters of Thought (Free subscription) | 16 hours ago

As a bochur at a farbrengen I once heard a story of a Satmar bochur who went off the derech (r"l). Encountering a Lubavitcher bochur, the Lubavitcher told him that his performance of a mitzvah such as tefillin was something more precious to G-d then the deed of a person Shomer Torah V'mitzvos etc. To what could this idea be compared? To a king with two sons. One son left and moved very far away...

Ph.D. scholarship on Second Temple Judaism at Groningen

PaleoJudaica.com (Free subscription) | yesterday

NOTE THE PH.D. SCHOLARSHIP on Second Temple Judaism at the University of Groningen, on which I posted this weekend.

No need to give reasons: a letter from David Cameron

Next Left (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago

Last week I posted - alas, somewhat tetchily - about the recent debate in the House of Lords on the proposal to allow civil partnership ceremonies to be performed on religious premises. The proposal, put forward as an amendment to the Equality Bill, was purely permissive, designed to allow religious groups (e.g., Liberal Judaism, Quakerism) who favour such ceremonies to carry them out but leaving other...

Barcelona, Spain – Out of Hiding, First ex Marrano Returns to Spain as Rabbi

Vos Iz Neais (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago

Barcelona, Spain – For the first time since the expulsion of Spain’s Jews in 1492, a descendant of forcibly-converted Spanish Jews who immigrated to Israel, returned to Judaism and received rabbinical ordination will return to Spain to serve as a rabbi. Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham, a resident of Shiloh, has been appointed Shavei Israel’s new emissary [...]

• Success To My Neighbor - MyRightWord

Army Knew of Jihadis in its Ranks and Did Nothing -"Islamic holy war — was a serious problem and threat to personnel in the U.S."

Atlas Shrugs (Free subscription) | 4 hours ago

What makes this so profoundly egregious is that senior level officials knew and were explicitly warned that jihadism — Islamic holy war — was a serious problem and threat to personnel . And still the dhimmi-ed down. They knew and still they sacrificed Americans as they imposed sharia law across this nation (do not insult Islam!) They are subverting the rule of law, the Constitution. This...

Meet Aliza Hausman, Dominican-American Orthodox Jewish convert, at a special Rosh Chodesh celebration

Paramus Post (Free subscription) | 9 hours ago

Thursday, March 4, 1010, 7:30 p.m., Temple Emeth, 1666 Windsor Road - Teaneck Admission is free - Refreshments will be served - Teenagers / women of all ages are welcome! An Invitation from Temple Emeth Women to ALL Women A native New Yorker and first-generation American of Dominican descent, Aliza will share the story of her journey - from growing up on the “Dominicanside” of Washington...

Better Know A Kofer - Adrienne

Da'as Hedyot (Free subscription) | 8 hours ago

I'm pleased to now present another Kofer interview, for your reading enjoyment. Today's participant goes by the name Adrienne, and for those of you who complained that my prior posts were too long, you'll be happy to know that Adrienne is a master of succinctness. Let's dive right in. Adrienne, can you start off by telling us about the religious environment that you came from? My community was modern...

Human Rights Abuses in Occupied Palestine

The Truth Will Set You Free (Free subscription) | 13 hours ago

By Stephen Lendman Founded in 1972, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is its leading human and civil rights organization through activities involving litigation, legal advocacy, education, and public outreach. Each year it publishes an annual report covering flagrant violations, positive trends, if any, and "significant human rights-related processes" affecting Israelis and...

Letter to the Reform movement

FresnoZionism.org -- ציונות פרסנו (Free subscription) | 20 hours ago

I’m a member of a Reform Jewish congregation. I wrote the following letter to Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi David Saperstein, head of its “Religious Action Center”. I also sent a copy to our rabbi and the president of the congregation. If you are a Reform Jew in the [...]

Paleography chair being axed at KCL

PaleoJudaica.com (Free subscription) | 11 hours ago

THE LAST PALAEOGRAPHY (PALEOGRAPHY) CHAIR IN THE UK is being eliminated by Kings College London, and all hell is starting to break loose. As it should. Writing off the UK's last palaeographer o John Crace o The Guardian, Tuesday 9 February 2010 The decision by a London university to axe the UK's only chair in palaeography has been met by outrage from the world's most eminent classicists. John Crace...

Peace and Conflict Studies, Part 1: Thinking About Culture, Nationalism, War, Empire, Rhetoric and Media

Dialogic (Free subscription) | yesterday

(Just some quotes and resources that are helping me think through some themes... ) What is Culture? BLOOD SACRIFICE AND THE NATION: REVISITING CIVIL RELIGION Carolyn Marvin and David Ingle (published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion: 64(4), Winter, 1996) Americans live in a culture that is as religious as any that exists. In this article we contend that nationalism is the most powerful...

Announcements #138: Etz Chaim in February

Hirhurim - Musings (Free subscription) | yesterday

Etz Chaim in February Exciting lectures at Etz Chaim this month. 147-19 73rd Ave. Flushing, NY EtzChaimkgh.org Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Wednesdays February 10, 17, 24 7:30pm Halakha and Psychology 1. Perspectives on Mental Health Issues in the Orthodox Jewish Community Today 2. New Trends in the Search for Spirituality: Helpful or Harmful to the Halachic Jew? 3. The Posek, the Pious, and the Parent:...

Can He Prove He's A Zionist?

My Right Word (Free subscription) | yesterday

A real cardcarrying Zionist? 1. Nicole Goldstone, the daughter of Richard Goldstone, whose report on Operation Cast Lead alleged that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, maintained on Wednesday that her father "is a Zionist and loves Israel." 2. You've been described as a friend of Israel, a Zionist . Is that accurate? I'm certainly a friend of Israel. I don't mind being called a Zionist;...

Videos For A Monday Morning

Monkey in the Middle (Free subscription) | yesterday

Just a few videos to start off your work week. First off Mr. Paine loudly shouts "no" to amnesty on principles, not politics. Amnesty Madness Next on our list is Pat Condell speaking his mind on the trial of Geert Wilders. The crooked judges of Amsterdam While some don't like his views on Christianity and Judaism, he still speaks the truth about Islam louder than many others. This

The Confident Pluralist

Anchor Rising (Free subscription) | yesterday

His specific topic is contemporary Judaism, but Ben Greenberg makes a worthwhile point related to pluralism more generally: Orthodox Judaism was supposed to founder on rugged American individualism, but quite the opposite has happened: A Judaism assembled at a buffet...

Can Israel Bully Turkey? - by Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

abdulruff | 14/01/2010

Turkey-Israeli Tensions- Casual or Drama? Can Israel Bully Turkey ? - Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal ONE Recent Zionist arrogance towards Turkey showcases that it cannot tolerate any criticism of its atrocities in Palestine from its allies, including...