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The Autobiography of Judaism

For someone whose life is writing on the Internet, Patrick Aleph still has a lot of secrets.Aside from running the alterna-Torah site PunkTorah, the “online minyan” OneShul, the collection The G-d Project, and a bunch of other sites, Aleph is an astoundingly prolific blogger and YouTube video-maker. As a convert, his perspective on Judaism — and on Jews — is ...

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The Ascent to Haute Boro Park

This post was written in response to a Tablet magazine piece posting a slide show of a women’s change from jeans skirts to jeans.Dear Ms.Umansky,If you can run an entire piece plus a slide show on Dvora Meyer’s evolution (devolution?) from jeanskirt wearing into jeans, than I’d like to propose the opposite side.Unlike Meyers, I grew up in a traditional ...

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The Answer to Israel’s PR Problems?

A friend just forwarded me this with the heading “A Blog Gift for You.” And so I pass on the generosity: This video, “En tus tierras bailaré” (“In Your Lands Someday I’ll Dance”), features a Latin social activist with cowboy swagger, Peru’s #1 Super Cougar and the Andean Miley Cyrus crooning “How pretty Israel is! Israel, Israel…In your lands one ...

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The Answer for Conservative Judaism’s Rebound

Somehow, the rabbinic associations of both the Reform and Conservative movements decided to hold their conventions this week in our nation’s two most notorious cities of sin — New Orleans and Las Vegas respectively.I’m not attending either convention in person (does Twitter count?), but I have been following the speeches at the Rabbinical Assembly Convention (Conservative) that have been streamed live ...

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The Allure of Kosher Food for the Jewish Holidays

Sue Fishkoff is the author of Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America’s Food Answers to a Higher Authority. She will be blogging all week of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog.When I’m invited to a Shabbat or holiday meal in a Jewish home, I always bring kosher wine. Not just that, I try to make it ...

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The Adin Steinsaltz Talmud and the Global Day of Learning

In 1994, following the death of my maternal grandfather, David Gudes, I received his entire library of Jewish books. In his collection were all of the volumes of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s translation of the Talmud into English that had been published thus far. These beautiful light-yellow volumes prompted me to start learning Talmud as a college freshman.At first, I would ...

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The 60 Second Guide to Rosh Hashanah

The foundation of Judaism is that all existence is dependent on G-d who created, supervises and influences both the spiritual and physical realms of the universe.In addition G-d created man who was given the tools and instructions to perfect and unify the physical world and connect it back to its G-dly source.Every year, on the anniversary of the creation of ...

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That Would Be “Ms. God” to You

Eminent religion scholar Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou has revived and enriched the theory that our single dad of a God actually had a partner at one point—before some misogynistic scribes edited her out of the Torah. After examining ancient texts, fertility goddess artifacts and quotes from the Tanach itself, Dr. Stavrakopoulou posits that the first Jews worshipped both Yahweh and a female entity ...

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That Would Be “Ms. God” to You

Have you heard that God had a wife?Eminent religion scholar Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou has revived and enriched the theory that our single dad of a God actually had a partner at one point—before some misogynistic scribes edited her out of the Torah. After examining ancient texts, fertility goddess artifacts and quotes from the Tanach itself, Dr. Stavrakopoulou posits that the ...

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Textured Rolling Pin DIY

Here’s a simple DIY for a textured rolling pin that you can use in so many ways: to texture clay of all kinds, for play dough and salt dough and maybe even as a printing tool for painting some wrapping paper, though don’t take my word for it, haven’t tried it! I made this one for myself, but it would ...

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Testifying for the Holocaust

Last week, Deborah Lipstadt wrote about eerie anniversaries and Hannah Arendt. Her posts have been appearing as a part of Jewish Book Council and MyJewishLearning’s Author Blog series.HaShoah.  It is also the time of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.  I am reminded of a small article which appeared on the front page [upper half] of the New York Times on April 22nd 1943.  The article read as ...

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TEN WAYS to help you and YOUR CHILDREN have a more Meaningful and Inspiring PESACH SEDER

Use these suggestions to infuse new meaning and excitement into your seder and create a lasting experience for you and your family.1.Make the most of your Seder and best fulfill the mitzvah of V’higadita L’vincha by staying focused on telling the actual story of Yetzias Mitzrayim; concentrate on the events and their lessons.2. Transform Yetzias Mitzrayim from a story into ...

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