I did not grow up with seders.By the time I became a Jew by choice, I was in my fifties.  I had been to a few seders, hosted by friends whose children and grandchildren turned them into raucous affairs.  I also attended one seder that was conducted...

Editor’s note: This column by Dr. James Hinrichs was made possible thanks to the generosity of Dr. Jonathan Root, Dr. Norman Druck and Galia Movitz. Thank you for your kind responses to my article last month in the Jewish Light on COVID-19. The situation...

As a septuagenarian, I have never envisioned in my lifetime what we are experiencing. I could have conceived of a nuclear exchange occurring; it almost happened during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. But not this. After all, other pandemics had come...

We hear a lot about “religious liberty” these days.  But what does it really mean?No one should care more about protecting the right to freely practice one’s religion than Jews. After all, we were denied the right to do so for centuries and have...

Dates extended for ‘Lawyers Without Rights’ exhibitThank you to the many individuals who came to the March 8 opening for “Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany Under the Third Reich,” featuring a presentation by William Meinecke of...

One of my all-time favorite pictures in our Conservative Movement Passover Haggadah, Feast of Freedom, is the one shown at right. It, of course, is a depiction of the Four Children that are described as part of the seder experience and which often engender...

JOHANNESBURG (JTA) — There is a dramatic scene described in the Haggadah of a Passover Seder that took place during turbulent and uncertain times. The Temple had just been destroyed and Roman soldiers were all over Israel. The future looked bleak.But...

Simchah Rabbah, Simchah Rabbah, Aviv Hegeea Pesach Ba! Great Joy, Great Joy, spring has arrived and Pesach is upon us! Each year, as we begin to see the first signs of spring, I am reminded of this lovely song from my childhood. It is of course common...

If you glanced at my work calendar, you might not know that the world is turned inside out. As a cantor and rabbi at a Los Angeles synagogue, I am continuing to lead services and counsel congregants. But like so many others, all of my meetings have been...

During these isolating times, staying connected to friends, family and neighbors is more important than ever.While you follow orders to stay home, there is no organization that better connects you to the St. Louis Jewish community than your non-profit...

Commentary leaves out crucial contextI am writing regarding the recent op-ed in The New York Times that compared Israel’s current coronavirus quarantine to the Israel Defense Forces military curfew of the Palestinians that occurred in 2002 (“Stay...