Want to lie on the hammock and read? How about a book with some Jewish aspect to it? Here are some recent books being talked about this summer. Happy reading! The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal Non- Fiction: A popular book about a collection of Japanese miniatures owned by a wealthy German…
Read More »Jewish Learning
Tisha B’Av is observed this Weekend
Tisha B’Av marks the destructions of the Temples in Jerusalem, the first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and second by the Romans in 70 of the Common Era. Each is said to have occurred on the same day, the ninth of Av on the Hebrew calendar. The day is commemorated as a fast day…
Read More »What’s Jewish about that?
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 »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…
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