I recently emailed a friend (yes, she in an interfaith marriage) who works at Berkeley Rep Theater to ask, “Do you have upcoming plays with a Jewish theme?” She replied, “Maybe I’m not the right person to ask because in my eyes there is always a Jewish theme.” She sent me some of her ideas…
Read More »Jewish Learning
Shabbat & Friday the 13th
I received this invitation from Kol Emeth via their newsletter: This Friday night shabbat is Friday the 13th. The number 13 is a special number in Judaism. According to the Torah (and the haggadah), 13 is the number G-d’s attributes. 13 is also the number of Israel’s (Jacob’s) children. Using gematria (the system by which…
Read More »Israel Trip – more photos
Day 2 we traveled to Shiloh, the ancient capitol of Israel before Jerusalem was built. These archaeologists think they have found the tabernacle where the Tablets of the Law were kept. Next we drove to the Jordan River, where Joshua brought the Israelites into the Land of Israel. These Christians have come to the river…
Read More »ISRAEL!
Day One I joined the Beth Jacob congregational trip to Israel in June. The idea was to follow the books of Tanach (the bible) from the time that the Israelites entered the land of Israel in the book of Joshua and then trace the history through the books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, visiting the sites…
Read More »Shavuot: What is it?
I love Shavuot. It is one of the three pilgrimage holidays when Jews in ancient times traveled to Jerusalem to offer a special sacrifice at the Temple. If you read Arthur Waskow’s Seasons of our Joy, you’ll learn about the activities that took place in the ancient Temple. It was magnificent and makes you want…
Read More »The Music of Shabbat
The Music of Shabbat with Cantor Ilene Keys What are the common melodies, why do they change, what’s the difference between songs and chanting? What is the role of the cantor in prayer? Why have a cantor and a rabbi in prayer services? In what way is the cantor clergy? What are the duties of…
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