Looking for a Virtual Dove on Whatsapp
By Miriam Heller Stern, PhD In 1929 my grandmother, Frances Lesser, traveled by ship from Boston across the Atlantic to attend the World Zionist Congress in Zurich. She was a single woman of about 30, the President of Junior Hadassah (junior was the designation for the unmarried women). I have fond memories of trying to […]
These are not Normal Times…a reflection on the eve of the 38th World Zionist Congress
By Andrew Keene If these were normal times, many of us would be boarding flights to Israel, perhaps spending a restorative Shabbat with an IMPJ community, before starting a very intensive several days of the 38th World Zionist Congress. We would be enjoying sunny Jerusalem days, and cool Jerusalem evenings. We would be learning, meeting, […]
In the Image…
By Rabbi Josh Weinberg October 16, 2020 -כ”ח תשרי תשפ”א וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃ “And God created the human being in the Divine image, in the image of God did the Eternal created humankind; male and female God created them.” There’s nothing quite like a good […]
Religion & Politics: The Story of One Israeli Reform Congregation
By: Rabbi Michael Boyden, of Hod HaSharon The toxic mix of religion and politics in Israel even manifests itself in the way that the country is handling COVID-19. When Tel Aviv airport was virtually closed in the early days of the corona pandemic, planeloads of Yeshiva students were being flown in from New York, where […]
It Was 20 Years Ago Today…
By Rabbi Josh Weinberg October 2, 2020 – י”ד תשרי תש”ף This week marks an important milestone. On September 29, 2000 – 20 years ago this week – then leader of the opposition Ariel Sharon walked onto the Temple Mount. It was a planned move to assert his dominance in the Likud Party. He was […]
Where Are You Sitting? – Weekly Words of Torah
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אִם־מָצָ֤אנוּ חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ יֻתַּ֞ן אֶת־הָאָ֧רֶץ הַזֹּ֛את לַעֲבָדֶ֖יךָ לַאֲחֻזָּ֑ה אַל־תַּעֲבִרֵ֖נוּ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ “[The Gadites and the Reubenites] said [to Moses] ‘If we have found favor in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.’” (Numbers 32:5) The determining factor, in my opinion, as to who […]
Absolute Moderation – Weekly Words of Torah
At the end of last week’s parashah, we witnessed one of the most disturbing stories in our Biblical canon. Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron the High Priest, witnessed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman “in intimacy” in public view on the steps of the Tent of Meeting. He rose in a fury, stabbed and […]