Two just claims can conflict. Two people of good will can be at odds. Should one side be eliminated in order to have peace? Or can we compromise and live with people with whom we disagree? This question arises frequently when interfaith couples are addressing patrilineal descent – children of a Jewish father and a…
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First, let me address the issue of whether the High Holy Days are “early” this year. For the Gregorian calendar, yes, it is early. Note that the Gregorian calendar was put into effect for the entire Catholic world by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 with a papal bull. For the Jewish calendar, no, the dates are…
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Cantor Linda Hirschhorn emailed her congregation, Temple Beth Sholom of San Leandro, about the practice of reciting a Psalm in preparation for the High Holy Days. She said: Starting this Sunday, August 8th— which is Rosh Hodesh Elul — until the end of the high holidays, Psalm 27 is recited in the daily morning and evening…
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A wise psychotherapist compared a non-Jew living in a Jewish community to a tourist visiting a new country. Dr. Perel is herself a transplant from Belgium to the United States. She uniquely positioned to view two cultures from inside and outside. Often Jews are so accustom to being the outsider that they are frantic to…
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We have a new federal holiday! Juneteenth. The Jewish social justice organization, Bend the Arc, emailed their constituents this information: This Saturday, June 19, marks the 156th anniversary of Juneteenth, commemorating the day when the news of abolition finally reached enslaved Black people in Texas. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston…
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(Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay ) Shavuot begins at sundown this Sunday. Shavuot is a bit of a puzzler holiday. The Torah has very little to say about it. Most of what we know of ancient practices comes from the Mishnah. It was born as an agricultural holiday and acquired greater meaning in time….
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