Judaism on Huffington Post

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks: The Queen’s Multi-faith Society

2012-05-31T12:59:55Z

No one does interfaith better than the Royal family, and it starts with the Queen herself.

Read more: Religion and Politics, Queen Elizabeth II, Interfaith, Judaism, Religion News

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie: Jon Stewart Is Hilarious But No Teacher Of Religion

2012-05-31T10:33:48Z

It is a real a stretch to see Stewart as a teacher of religion. True, his interviews on religious matters, as on everything else, are always civil. But the fact is that while he avoids anger and bitterness, his jokes and skits on religion have a mocking, dismissive tone.

Read more: TV and Religion, Jon Stewart and Religion, Jon Stewart, The Book of Mormon, Stephen Colbert, Mormonism, The Daily Show, Mark Oppenheimer, Judaism, Religion News

Kecia Ali: Belief-O-Matic And Me

2012-05-31T06:45:31Z

According to the Internet, I am 100 percent Reform Jew. This came as something of a surprise to me since I'm a Muslim. Let me explain.

Read more: Islam, Interfaith, Judaism, Reform Judaism, Muslims, Interfaith Dialogue, Interreligious Dialogue, Islamic Law, Religion News

Top Conservative Jewish Officials Praise Obama After White House Meeting

2012-05-30T12:53:44Z

A group of rabbis and leaders from the Conservative movement of Judaism are commending President Barack Obama after a White House meeting on Tuesday, ...

Read more: Obama and Jews, Conservative Judaism, President Barack Obama Jewish Voters, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Judaism, President Obama, Steven Wernick, Elections 2012, Israel, Barack Obama, Religion News

Rabbi Naamah Kelman: Breaking the 'Stained Glass' Ceiling: Women And Numbers 4:41-7:89

2012-05-29T17:03:50Z

This week's Torah portion, Naso, is a dramatic reminder of women's vulnerability. One of the most notorious ordeals regarding women is found within it.

Read more: Scripture Study, Scripture Commentary, On Scripture, Jewish Women, Parshat Naso, Torah, Gender and Religion, Women in the Bible, Judaism, Weekly Torah Portion, Biblical Women, Religion News

Israel Finally Recognizes Non-Orthodox Jews

2012-05-29T14:12:17Z

For non-Orthodox Jews in Israel, a seven-year battle for recognition is over. But the larger struggle for acceptance continues.

On Tuesday (May 29...

Read more: Video, Conservative Judges, Reform Judaism, Masorti Movement, Israeli Culture, Judaism in Israel, Israel, Female Rabbis, Role-of-Women-in-Judaism, Religion News

Vandals Damage 1,600-Year-Old Mosaic In Israel

2012-05-29T11:49:51Z

JERUSALEM -- Vandals badly damaged a rare 1,600-year-old mosaic in the northern Israeli city of Tiberias that formed the floor of an ancient synagogue...

Read more: Biblical Archeology, Video, Archeology, Israel, Judaism, Zodiac Signs, Israel Antiquities Authority, Religion News

JOKE: One Woman, One Rabbi, Two Requests

2012-05-24T12:03:26Z

A woman was preparing her last will and testament, and decided to include two final requests. She met with her rabbi to tell him about it. First, she ...

Read more: Marlo Thomas, Funny Jokes, Lotd, Laugh of the Day, Jewish Jokes, Women News

Amy Koplow: Jewish Soldiers Perform Selfless Acts of Kindness

2012-05-28T08:00:33Z

The young soldiers of West Point performed the ultimate act of kindness in Judaism -- chesed shel emet, an act of loving kindness which cannot be repaid by the recipient of the act.

Read more: Slideexpand, Memorial Day, Tzedakah, Military, Hebrew Free Burial Association, Loving Kindness, Judaism, West Point, Jewish Social Justice, Religion News

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld: Confessions Of A Free!aholic

2012-05-27T08:16:02Z

I confess! I am a freeaholic. What is a freeaholic? I am addicted to offering things to other people for free. But there is no such things as a free lunch, so it is time to look at my own behavior.

Read more: Jewish Education, Torah, Judaism, Scripture Study, Birthright Israel, Torah Wisdom, Scripture Commentary, Religion News

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks: The Leader Of The Future Comes From The Past

2012-05-26T09:04:39Z

f we are to negotiate the coming years safely, we may need a new kind of leadership. We need the rediscovery of an ancient kind of leadership that has rarely been given the prominence it deserves. I mean the leader as teacher.

Read more: Scripture Commentary, Judaism, Economy, Scripture Study, European Debt Crisis, Leadership, Economic Crisis, Religion News

Ruth Messinger: Our Current Global Food Crisis and How We Can Feed 17 Million More People

2012-05-25T16:28:28Z

This year during Shavuot, the Jewish holiday which marks the end of the harvest, I am reminded of my commitment to alleviate hunger.

Read more: Shavuot, Farm Bill, Africa, Food Aid, Book of Ruth, American Jewish World Service, Hunger, Poverty, Judaism, Religion News

Rabbi Laura Baum: Why I'm Skipping Shavuot

2012-05-25T14:07:53Z

I'm a rabbi. But I won't be observing the Shavuot holiday this weekend. Not because I don't have the time. It's because the traditional message of Shavuot doesn't speak to me.

Read more: Shavuot, Judaism, Mythology, Torah, God, Bible, Hebrew Bible, Jewish Holidays, Jewish History, Religion News

Rabbi Jason Miller: I Was At Mt. Sinai: A Personal Revelation Story

2012-05-25T17:00:52Z

Never has the spiritual force of revelation affected me more than it did on the early morning of May 31, 1998.

Read more: Shavuot, Jewish Holidays, God, Bible, Torah, Judaism, Scripture Study, Scripture Commentary, Mount Sinai, Religion News

Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman: Shavuot, Mt. Sinai And The Big Bang

2012-05-25T16:16:31Z

Just as there is a background sound permeating all the universe as a result of the initial instant of the big bang, we can say similarly that there is a spiritual background voice in the world resulting from the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

Read more: Religion and Science, Omer 2012, Judaism, Shavuot, Big Bang, Scripture Commentary, Scripture Study, Mount Sinai, Kabbalah, Religion News

Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Ph.D.: Etan Patz And 5 Lessons That Loss Can Teach

2012-05-25T14:10:11Z

The pain of my childhood loss became something I could no longer deny, and I made a vow to turn my own life-long struggle to learn how to live with grief and loss into lessons that would guide the rest of my life.

Read more: Living With Loss, Loss, Grief, Life Lessons, Death & Dying, Judaism, Etan Patz, Mourning, Religion News

Chaviva Galatz: On Shavuot, A Recommitting To Converts

2012-05-25T13:03:22Z

Infamous for circling the wagons, the Jewish people forgets its deep roots in conversion. Shavuot is a chance to reconsider our commitment to the image of the Jewish people and the image we portray when it comes to the convert in our midst.

Read more: Shavuot 2012, Shavuot, Ruth, Conversion to Judaism, Conversion, Rachav, Book of Ruth, Judaism, Biblical Women, Religion News

Mark Hetfield: A Sad Shavuot in Tel Aviv

2012-05-25T12:20:54Z

The spirit of Shavuot is marred by this week's mob violence against asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in South Tel Aviv.

Read more: Jewish Holidays, Israel, Shavuot, Asylum, Refugees, Asylum Seekers Israel, Israel Asylum Seekers, Impact News

Rabbi Laura Geller: Shavuot And Ruth: Beyond the Letter of the Law

2012-05-25T08:02:32Z

Saturday night is the anniversary of the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai. Strange, isn't it, that on the holy day we celebrate the Giving of the Law, we traditionally study the Book of Ruth, the most transgressive of the Bible, a book that explicitly defies a Divine command.

Read more: Shavuot, Book of Ruth, Judaism, Loving Kindness, Chesed, Jewish Law, Scripture Study, Scripture Commentary, Women in the Bible, Biblical Women, Religion News

Jewish Female Scribes Receive The Torah

2012-05-25T08:01:43Z

Some say her work is forbidden. Some might say it's a complete waste of time. Others remain silent. But Julie Seltzer, one of a few women in history t...

Read more: Soferet, Video, Judaism, Jewish Women, Jewish Law, Gender and Religion, Torah, Slideexpand, Shavuot, Religion News

Eitan Press: Thinking Outside The Book: Shavuot And The Great Torah Download

2012-05-24T20:06:05Z

Many people associate the word "Torah" with the Five books of Moses, but according to Jewish wisdom, the Torah and what was given at Mt. Sinai was much more than a book.

Read more: Shavuot, Jewish Holidays, Consciousness, Meditation, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Jewish Spirituality, God, Torah, Judaism, Religion News

Josh Fleet: Parshat Bamidbar: Collecting The Names

2012-05-24T19:41:30Z

One year, one month and one day after the Exodus. God speaks to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the desert at Sinai, telling him: Take a census of the Children of Israel. Count their names. All the men, 20 years of age or older.

Read more: Scripture Study, Scripture Commentary, Judaism, Book of Numbers, Parshat Bamidbar, Bamidbar, Hufftorah, Weekly Torah Portion, Religion News

Jewish Female Scribes: Timeline Of A Modern Movement

2012-05-23T18:35:45Z

Their existence is unprecedented in Jewish history: a growing, loosely knit community of approximately 50 Jewish female scribes living across the Unit...

Read more: Judaism, Jewish Women, Gender and Religion, Religion News

Rabbi Ben Greenberg: A Responsible Solution To The Jewish Divorce Crisis

2012-05-24T10:29:56Z

There are now rabbis throughout North America who will ensure that every future husband and wife ready to walk down that aisle helps protect themselves and the entire Jewish community by signing a prenuptial agreement.

Read more: Judaism, Halacha, Agunah, Prenuptial Agreements, Jewish Law, Jewish Divorce, Jewish Wedding, Religion News

Leading Ultra-Orthodox Group Insists Abuse Claims Go To Rabbis First

2012-05-23T11:21:30Z

By Paul Berger
The Forward

An Orthodox parent whose child tells him he’s been sexually abused may not take that child’s claim to the police wi...

Read more: Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, Video, Judaism, Clergy Sex Abuse, Sex Abuse, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Agudath Israel, Charles Hynes, Haredi Jews, Religion News