Is England’s Future King Jewish?
Mazel Tov! After much anticipation, at 4:24 p.m. in London on July 22, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth. The Royal bundle is an 8lbs. 6oz. son, future King — and perhaps a real Jewish Prince. For those of you who haven’t heard, according to lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kate’s mother, Carol, is the daughter of […]
Pigeonholing an Israeli Abroad
I had only known my girlfriend for a few weeks when she invited me to a friend’s house for Shabbat dinner on the Upper West Side. As a 44-year-old secular Israeli who had moved recently to New York City after my divorce, I didn’t have much experience with American Jews. Her friends were great: educated, […]
UJA Helps Jews Mark Pesach Worldwide
For decades, the United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto has helped the Jewish community in Cuba celebrate Passover by sending a “Pesach container” filled with all the necessary ingredients, including gefilte fish, red wine, matzo meal, oil, salmon, and of course, matzo. To support this initiative, and to raise money for Jewish communities in Cuba, […]
Is Marijuana Kosher for Passover?
Via Earth Times with a big smile. Passover pot is not a problem for Sephardic Jews. Is cannabis kosher for Passover for Ashkenazic Jews? Is pot kitniyot? It’s up to the rabbi JERUSALEM (UPI) In Israel, rabbis are trying to determine if hemp and its cousin, marijuana, are on the list of legumes that some […]
Spain Eases Naturalization Process for Sephardic Jews
Spain announced Thursday that it would grant automatic citizenship to Jews of Sephardic descent as a further gesture of reconciliation after their ancestors were expelled from the country more than five centuries ago or forced to convert to Christianity. While Sephardic Jews have been able to seek Spanish naturalization for decades, the change means that […]
Rabbi Yitzhak Spotted Using iPhone, Despite Ban
A recent picture of a rabbi in a compromising position that scandalized the haredi community was finally explained on Sunday. Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak, renowned for his outreach work among Sephardi Jews, was photographed several weeks ago holding what looked suspiciously like an iPhone. This was surprising, to say the least, since the device has been […]
Best To Get Rid of ‘Modern Haman’ Ahmadinejad Without War
“All of us would prefer to get rid of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the modern Haman, without war,” President Shimon Peres told former Chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his Sukkah in Tuesday. Peres also put in a plug for the Obama administration. Haman was the second in command to the king of Persia – […]
Widow of Former Chief Rabbi Asks Jews to Pray for Pollard
Rabbanit Tzvia Eliyahu, widow of Israel’s former Chief Sephardic Rabbi HaRishon LeTzion, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zts”l, put out a special request on Sunday and asked Jews around the world to say a prayer for Jonathan Pollard in the synagogues during the Rosh Hashanah holiday. The rebbetzin mentioned the words of her late husband, who said […]
Tisha B’Av, Ride, and Mayer
Over the weekend, I was at a Modern Orthodox temple honoring Tisha B’Av, the 9th day in the month of Av, the saddest day in the Jewish year. I was dressed modestly, wearing a skirt to my ankles, my arms covered to my wrists, and like Jewish mourners throughout the world and throughout time, I […]
Shabbat Shalom vs. Good Shabbos
I like to consider myself a Jewish profiler. I remember when everyone was going nuts over racial profiling in airports. I used to do a little profiling of my own – on the streets of my Jewish community every Saturday morning. I am sure there was a simpler time in the Orthodox community, a time […]
Easy TuBishvat Combo–Almond-Silan Baked Apples for TuBishvat
TuBishvat isn’t some kind of trivial pursuit question (remember that 80s game in which players showed off their command of arcane and irrelevant information) TuBishvat is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud’s list of New Years (Any cheder boy will tell you that there are four the best known being Rosh Hashana) and TuBishvat is the […]
Ethiopian chief rabbi’s brother supports those left behind
Emanuel Hadane, the brother of Israel’s Ethiopian Chief Rabbi Yosef Hadane, has taken up the cause of more than 20,000 Ethiopians of Jewish descent who are not eligible under Israeli government criteria to make aliya. According to Hadane, who is a trained lawyer, his brother – the rabbi – is supportive of his attempts to […]
63% of Jews in favor of Shabbat buses
The Israeli society is filled with conflicts and tensions: Between Sephardim and Ashkenazim, between Right and Left, and between rich and poor. But one of the deepest rifts relates to state and religion – public transportation on Shabbat, conversion, marriage and divorce, IDF draft and other burning issues. The past year was also filled with […]
T-Shirt of the Week: Headin’ For The Hills
How wonderfully fortuitous to find this “Mountain Jew” t-shirt from ShalomShirts.com just as we’re off to retrieve Yenta boy from camp in North Carolina. A month in the mountains is a long time—I wonder if he’ll come back with a beard? Speaking of Mountain Jews, I recently received a link to an Examiner.com article that […]
Jewish group promoting polygamy?
Are we about to witness a new phenomenon in Israel in the coming years – one man married to several women? Tens of thousands of leaflets were distributed in synagogues across the country recently, promoting the ancient custom and presenting it as a solution for the single daughters of Israel. The phenomenon of a man […]
Eating Jewish: Iraqi Purim Delicacies
With preparation for Purim in full swing, there is no doubt that many people are thinking about Hamantaschen, which has become synonymous with this holiday in North America. Although these triangular cookies are delicious and I love to both eat and make them during Purim celebrations, I also wanted to explore what other dishes are […]
The Traditional Jewish Wedding Meal
As in other Jewish celebrations, Jewish weddings involve festive meals. The food served during the wedding reception will mainly depend on the ethnic origin and historical backgrounds of the Bride and Groom. Know your historical background. Ashkenazi Jews are of European origin and their menu traditionally composes of meats, roast potatoes and vegetables. Sephardic Jews, […]
History Timeline of Jewish People in America
1630 Holland captures Pernambuco, Brazil from the Portuguese and invites Jewish settlement. A significant Jewish community develops in Recife. (Recife is the 4th largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants. 1649 Solomon Franco was a merchant, who was granted a weekly stipend by the Puritan authorities on the condition that he leave on the […]
Sephardi leader Yosef: Non-Jews exist to serve Jews
Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his weekly Saturday night sermon said that non-Jews exist to serve Jews. “Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel,” he said during a public discussion of what kind of work non-Jews are […]
Naming a Jewish Baby
Judaism plays an important role in naming a Jewish child. A Hebrew name is usually given to a child. This Hebrew name is considered as the child’s real name by which God calls him. There are many customs followed in Jewish baby naming ceremonies. Ashkenazi Jews name a child after a deceased loved one. This […]
Spanish Jews
Spanish Jewry goes back to at least 965 BCE, the time of the Roman Empire and era of King Solomon. Jewish history has felt a lot of sufferings and persecutions throughout time, and the events that took place in the Spanish Inquisition should be remembered as one of the most cataclysmic and darkest events in […]
How to Plan a Jewish Wedding Meal
Just like any other celebration, a Jewish wedding culminates with a festive meal. The food that will be served will mainly depend on the historical background of the couple – Ashkenazi or Jews of European origin, and Sephardi or Jews of Middle Eastern , Spanish and Portuguese origin. Traditionally, kosher food is prepared for the Jewish […]
Sefer Tehillim on CD-Rom
The Book of Psalms Now for the first time ever, you can study Psalms through the power of your computer. You will appreciate not only the words and sounds of these Five Holy Books but also understand the meaning of its often cryptic passages. ‘Tehillim on CD-ROM’ with its clear easy reading fonts, simplified translation […]
Torah Anthology – Me’am Lo’ez – Available individually
Five Books Of Moses: 20-Volume Set and Rabbi Shmuel YerushalmiTranslated by: Rabbi Aryeh KaplanPart of the ‘Torah Anthology Tanach’ series. The Torah Anthology is a clear, modern translation of Me’am Lo’ez, hailed as ‘the outstanding work of Ladino literature.’ Written by Rabbi Yaakov Culi, one of the greatest Sephardic sages of his times, the book […]
Like a Braided Candle
Songs for Havdalahby Gail Javitt While there are many CD’s of Sabbath music, this is the only available collection devoted entirely to the music of havdalah. It contains songs from the Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions, in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino. Each song presents a different facet of a rich and enduring liturgical and musical […]
Torah Anthology Yehoshua
Joshuaby Rabbi Shmuel YerushalmiTranslated by: Rabbi Nathan BushwickPart of the ‘Torah Anthology Tanach’ series. The Torah Anthology is a clear, modern translation of Me’am Lo’ez, hailed as ‘the outstanding work of Ladino literature.’ Written by Rabbi Yaakov Culi, one of the greatest Sephardic sages of his times, the book was first published in 1730. It […]
Torah Anthology Shoftim
Judgesby Rabbi Shmuel YerushalmiTranslated by: Rabbi Nathan BushwickPart of the ‘Torah Anthology Tanach’ series. The Torah Anthology is a clear, modern translation of Me’am Lo’ez, hailed as ‘the outstanding work of Ladino literature.’ Written by Rabbi Yaakov Culi, one of the greatest Sephardic sages of his times, the book was first published in 1730. It […]
Torah Anthology Shmuel 2
Samuel Vol. 2Translated by: Rabbi Nathan BushwickPart of the ‘Torah Anthology Tanach’ series. The Torah Anthology is a clear, modern translation of Me’am Lo’ez, hailed as ‘the outstanding work of Ladino literature.’ Written by Rabbi Yaakov Culi, one of the greatest Sephardic sages of his times, the book was first published in 1730. It changed […]
Torah Anthology Shmuel 1
Samuel Vol. 1Translated by: Rabbi Nathan BushwickPart of the ‘Torah Anthology Tanach’ series. The Torah Anthology is a clear, modern translation of Me’am Lo’ez, hailed as ‘the outstanding work of Ladino literature.’ Written by Rabbi Yaakov Culi, one of the greatest Sephardic sages of his times, the book was first published in 1730. It changed […]
Torah Anthology Melochim I
Kings Vol. 1by Rabbi Shmuel YerushalmiPart of the ‘Torah Anthology Tanach’ series. The Torah Anthology is a clear, modern translation of Me’am Lo’ez, hailed as ‘the outstanding work of Ladino literature.’ Written by Rabbi Yaakov Culi, one of the greatest Sephardic sages of his times, the book was first published in 1730. It changed the […]