It is a regrettable injustice that the major contribution of the resistance to the creation of the State of Israel is almost entirely absent from our collective memory.This July and August mark the 72nd anniversary of the journey of the Exodus 1947 (originally...
Syrian residents, fleeing violence in Aleppo’s Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood, arrive in the Fardos neighbourhood after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters, Dec. 13, 2016. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
In Parashat Hukkat, our sages read the absence of water that follows Miriam’s death as alluding to the drying up of the well that traveled with the Israelites throughout their journeys, given as a gift in merit of Miriam (Bavli Talmud Ta’anit 9a).What...
The Israelites still are in the Wilderness. They still are preparing to inaugurate usage of the Mishkan/Dwelling-place, the portable wilderness Sanctuary or Tabernacle. Our Torah portion opens with these words: “The Eternal spoke to Moses as follows....
By Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael
• Published April 21, 2016
“Our tale begins in degradation and ends in praise.”This is more or less the entire original seder “script” outlined in the Mishnah nearly 2,000 years ago. It outlines not only the story of Exodus, but also a way of looking at Jewish and divine...
What’s the most important part of Passover? Matzah? Wine? Haggadah? Aunt Tilly’s gefilte fish? Freedom from slavery is awesome. But despite the lines of the Haggadah song “dayenu,” the freedom would not have meant very much without the Torah....
BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published July 4, 2012
In his new book “Moses: A Stranger Among Us,” ($19, Cascade Books, 164 pages), Rabbi Maurice D. Harris, a native of St. Louis, sets forth a fresh look at Moses, “from a progressive, pluralistic Jewish perspective.” Rabbi Harris himself is no...
By Cathleen Kronemer, NSCA-CPT
• Published April 5, 2012
As the season of Pesach approaches and households are busy eliminating all traces of chametz from the shelves and replacing it with matzah, it seems reasonable to be thinking of how we plan to embrace the traditions that await us on Friday at sundown. ...
By Deborah Fineblum Raub, JointMedia News Service
• Published March 28, 2012
When you have youngsters from interfaith families at your seder table, it can’t help but up the Passover ante. Maybe you are the kids’ auntie, or their grandparent, cousin, neighbor or friend. And maybe, just maybe you’re their parent. Whatever...
By Dr. Erica Brown, JointMedia News Service
• Published March 28, 2012
Three times in the book of Exodus and once in Deuteronomy, we are commanded to tell the master narrative of our people to our children. Sometimes it is because children ask, and we have a responsibility as bearers of a legacy to answer. Sometimes children...
By the Jewish Light Staff
• Published March 28, 2012
Too often a good idea leads to less desirable—though unintended—consequences. So it was with the Jewish Light’s Matzah Taste Test. Wouldn’t it be helpful to buy a bunch of different brands of matzah and recruit staff members to judge the brands...
Kitchen J is taking reservations for the First Seder of Passover, Friday, April 6, at the Covenant I Dining Room. Seniors are invited to include their families and friends for the recounting of the story of the Exodus from Egypt over a great meal. The...
