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Announcing the Winners of the 2017 Belin Awards!
The Belin Awards are designed to encourage and honor congregations of all sizes that have developed uniquely innovative and effective audacious hospitality programs.
3 Previously Frowned-Upon Behaviors to Embrace During the High Holidays at Home
The new normal of distanced coronavirus kehilla t'filah (communal prayer) offers new ways to enhance your Home High Holidays. Consider these three previously banned behaviors to warm up your worship.
What Ancient Tents of the Israelites Teach us About Modern Privacy Issues
Components of the USA Patriot Act are set to expire next month, giving us an important opportunity to consider contemporary issues of privacy and national security going forward. The Patriot Act, signed into law in 2001 by President Bush and extended in 2011 by President Obama, is a highly controversial piece of legislation that significantly expanded government surveillance of American citizens. The bill was drafted in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001and was intended to be an anti-terrorism measure. Many, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Constitution Project, opposed the bill on the grounds that it restricted civil liberties and privacy rights. Today, issues surrounding the extent of the National Security Agency’s surveillance remain at the forefront of privacy and security conversations. Companies including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook are vocally opposing the extension of the Patriot Act.
And You Shall Love the Stranger: Mobilizing Our Community for Refugees
And You Shall Love the Stranger: Mobilizing Our Community for Refugees Congregation B’nai Jehudah followed a multi-pronged approach, seeking to impact the community through education, the broader non-Jewish community through education and advocacy, and the refugee community itself through support.
The Deep Jewish Legacy of Comic Books and the Superhero Genre
Marvel Studio’s latest blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War, is banking on the superhero genre conceived in the early 1930s by two Jewish high school students.
Meet the Netflix Star Who Plays an African-British-Jewish Astronaut
Ato Essandoh isn’t Jewish, or British, or an astronaut — but he plays an African-British-Jewish astronaut on TV.
Nakedness and Vulnerability
In Leviticus 18:3, in Acharei Mot, it is written, "You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you."
We Are What We Eat
Focal Point
Any animal that has true hoofs, with clefts through the hoofs, and that chews the cud-such you may eat. . . . And the swine-although it has true hoofs, with the hoofs cleft through, it does not chew the cud: it is impure for you. (Leviticus 11:3, 11:7)
Another Tragic Shooting Highlights Urgent Need for Action
We mourn the tragic death of Walter Scott this past weekend in North Charleston, South Carolina and send our thoughts and prayers to his family and community. Over the past year, our nation’s consciousness has been raised as we have watched Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so many more tragically and unnecessarily lose their lives. We hope that the charges brought against the police officer indicate the seriousness with which this situation will be handled.
A Light that Will Never Go Out: Am Yisrael Chai
This week, we mark Yom HaShoah (April 15-16) -- Holocaust Remembrance Day -- a day when Jewish communities gather together to commemorate the day through worship, music and stories from survivors and lighting yellow candles as symbol of the living memories of the victims. Yom HaShoah is a time to remember and reflect. It is also a time to also recommitment ourselves to fighting bigotry and anti-Semitism. And, for me, Yom HaShoah is a time to think about the notion of Jewish peoplehood.