During the month of June in New York, two Judaica auctions were held; each offered ceremonial objects, paintings, and printed material that were of significant interest to collectors, dealers, and museums worldwide. Beginning with Sotheby's: An exceedingly rare pair of silver Torah rimonim (finials that adorn the tops of a sefer Torah) from Hamburg, Germany […]
Nadler certainly knows what’s at stake, but seems overtaken by his hatred of President Trump, reflexively seizing on anything that may paint him in a harsh light.
In times of surplus (brought on by ample rain), people tend to treat each other more fairly and are at peace with one another versus times of austerity and famine when people compete with each other for limited resources.
I remember her, a teacher who loved teaching, a teacher who inspired her students, and students who loved and admired their teacher in return.
Enjoy the moment, enjoy dreaming that what you really want should come true.
We cannot stress enough the importance of participation in both the primary and general elections.
When He revealed the Decalogue at Mount Sinai, however, the entire Jewish people were gathered at the mountain, so G-d “raised His voice” and we therefore speak of the “Aseret HaDibrot.”
The entire courtyard of the masses becomes silent exactly at sunrise as they pray to Hashem. This is a magnificent moment; you can hear the hum of the prayers as all the Jews unite quietly with Hashem in prayer at that exact moment.
Learning Torah and perforning mitzvos are not only something we do, it becomes part of who we are.
The Torah refers to a punishment that seems identical, or similar to, karet with the word "ariri."
Shmuel was so special since he was created from the love his parents had for Hashem – they yearned and prayed for a son who would serve Hashem.
Sometimes you see a couple that you would never have dreamed to match together and yet Hashem did “dream” it.
I do my best to continue what was important to him, and what has become important for me - to count, and to remember.
By Judy Waldman
It is impressive to see the standing room only crowd on Shabbos.
This week Jews all over the world celebrate the 33rd day of the Omer. This day designates two very important milestones. One is that on this day the students of Rabbi Akiva stopped dying. Secondly, this is when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai shared the holy Zohar, a Kabbalistic work revealing the greatest secrets of the […]
Little, if anything, was heard from those upmarket Jews who had seamlessly blended into Germans culture. But perhaps, by then, it was already too late for them as well.
Highly regarded as the spiritual leader of his congregants, his writings on Jewish topics educated thousands.
Rabbi Pappenheim maintains that “bat” (daughter) is also derived from the root bet-nun and should really be spelled “banat” (like it is in other Semitic languages).
However, being friendly and or having lots of friends doesn’t necessarily mean that these friends are true ones.
But we are also concerned with the here and now, as Democratic House leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer issued statements rallying behind her.
No New Yorker should be forced to view these ads every single day.
Evidence surfaced some time ago suggesting that contributions to the foundation were tied to securing meetings with then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
This week Jews in Israel and all over the world celebrated the founding of the Jewish state. Unfortunately, positive recognition of the State of Israel is controversial. The fact that this is the land that Hashem bequeathed to the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov is agreed by all who believe in the Bible; it […]
We as Jews have a special power and energy to never be defeated. This was passed down to us by our father Avraham, the first Jew in the world.
The eldest of the chassidic leaders, the Kaliver was acknowledged as a foremost halachic authority and dedicated his life to perpetuating the memory of victims of the Holocaust.
There was no apology, only that the image was “offensive,” an error in judgment in publishing it and that it had been deleted.
Congress has legislatively added to this general power, authorizing the executive branch to conduct the census and the basing of aid to various localities on the numbers.
This time I felt that G-d had sent that message especially for me. I was suddenly able to look at what I have and not at what I was still missing.
As it turned out, Judge Ryba ruled that NYSED did not follow the procedures set forth in the NY State Administrative Procedure Act for the promulgation of the guidelines.
On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the waivers will end May 2 and all companies buying oil from Iran will face stiff U.S. economic penalties.
Weren’t more than a few of them on pre-investigation record as being sharply disdainful of Donald Trump?
What does “Pesach” mean? Rashi (to Exodus 12:11 and 12:13 and Isaiah 31:5) explains that it is an expression of dilug and kefitzah (types of jumping). These two words appear side by side in a Biblical passage that we read every year on the Shabbat of Pesach: “The voice of my beloved – behold it […]
Often the only thing preventing one from doing something is a bit of encouragement from another.
It would have been easier to accept had the letter and the Congress members spoken about the effect annexation would have on American interests abroad.
Moreover, a comparison of the recent episode with Rep. Ilhan Omar reveals the perfidy in play here.
Recall that the Obama administration declined to include the issues of Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile development and its fomenting and supporting global terror.
They also make no mention of the Arab side’s inability to finally accept Israel’s existence in the Middle East and its entitlement to borders that would be defensible in the next Arab onslaught.
Growing families on a budget will either have to shell out money for paper bags where available ... or invest in reusable cloth or other bags.
No matter what was left physically, Zechariah’s soul was soaring high above the crowd even after 37 years.
A person can get hurt, insulted, or offended by anyone. And when a person gets hurt by someone they care for and love, the pain is even greater.
New technologies such as electronic locks can easily prompt conflicts with our religious needs since most of our fellow citizens don’t share them.
By Judy Waldman
It was time to not just start a new synagogue, it was time to create an atmosphere that assured that davening with kavanah was an attainable goal.
The more natural something is, the less attention we pay to it. Every morning we get up and take care of the morning routine almost by rote.
While some may minimize these no-shows, this is clearly a departure from years past, when supporting AIPAC was seen as an uncontroversial move.
When there is cause for celebration our complete focus should be on that celebration.
It was customary to hang decorations such as yours on the synagogue wall at the start of the month of Adar, and for them to be taken down once the Purim holiday concluded.
Mordechai was all she had – he was her family. And now she must live apart from him forever. Why?
Sounds like something the timid Jewish officials could sink their teeth into? After all, she seems to disavow the Palestinian narrative that Jews have had scant historical connections to Israel.
Although the 1977 ruling has benefited countless Sabbath observers over the years, the requirement of only a limited accommodation has prevented the law from reaching its full potential.
Every heart was filled with gratitude to the Almighty for granting this special soul a chance to live.
History has some of the most tragic events and deaths listed for the month of Adar, events that reach as far back as the great scholarly houses of Hillel and Shammai...
To build the Mishkan, one must have the ability to hear G-d every step of the way, so that it will come out exactly the way G-d wanted it.
Surely, someone with such skewed and prejudiced views on international affairs has no place on the foreign affairs committee to which she was appointed by Pelosi.
It is important to keep in mind that it is not only Israel that has a significant interest in Israeli control of the Golan.
This incident is the latest of several apparent breaches of various city protocols, which heretofore had recognized Hatzoloh’s life-saving role.
Worries have been around since the beginning of time. How we react is the only thing that really changes.
By Judy Waldman
This time period covered the sons of Baron Hirsch members serving in wars, including the American Civil War, the Spanish American War, World Wars and I & II, and the Korean War.
The soul must be saved from panic, for panic can destroy it.
If I were to walk into a retail store, I doubt I could purchase your chanukiah for anything less than $5,000.
The Torah specifies that the home is the first place that one should do chesed, and only after that should we look to help others.
In his role as public advocate, he will have a bully pulpit to hold the mayor publicly accountable for his actions.
Problem, though, is that the $3 billion was a plan for tax breaks – not money otherwise available to the state for spending.
Senators Kamala Harris and Corey Booker, both now having declared for the presidency in 2020, were particularly intense and argumentative. And the media followed suit.
It would seem unthinkable that Americans would be asking the question as to whether high officials of the DOJ and FBI actually met to seriously discuss a plan to remove President Trump from office.
We found intriguing a report in Sunday’s New York Times that could end up explaining the unusual length and sparse results both now and at the end of the probe, if that should be the final result.
We must all feel as though the traumatic event is part of us; we must cry and pray to Hashem to have mercy on all of us as individuals and as one big family as well.
By Judy Waldman
The Sisterhood arrived at the decision to create the “Young Ladies’ Club of Congregation B’nai Israel," where there would be interesting activities for young women in their late teens and twenties.
By Hannah Rubin
Particularly, Yaya Tours focuses on the post-Inquisition heritage of Sephardic Jewry, so most of their expeditions are concentrated in Southern Europe and North Africa.
Leah couldn’t wait to hear what the Rabbi had said. Deep down in her heart she wanted so much to hear and believe that everything was going to be all right...
Who looked for wisdom? Who sat so quietly in class taking in every word that the rabbi was trying to teach us?
It remained somewhat speculative as to how far Democrats would go once they controlled the governorship and both houses of the legislature...
By Judy Waldman
Although some Memphis Jews were slaveholders and slave traders, they mostly favored secession primarily due to their Southern acculturation rather than by the defense of slavery.
The constant upheaval, violent persecution and expulsion of various Jewish communities in Europe has had an acute effect on extant Jewish ritual objects.
Thinking about all of our troubles or tests will not help us. Gloom and depression don’t solve anything.
But the court’s decision is as much about court procedure and how policy is properly set as it is about the rights of transgender people.
What this new law does, however, is require a foreign entity – as a condition of accepting U.S. aid – to agree that American courts have personal jurisdiction, whether or not U.S. citizens were the targets.
It is very important to know who and where your family came from since history has a way of repeating itself.
Yet the legislation languished because of evidentiary concerns: memories fade, what exactly occurred, if anything, could not be clear in the accuser’s mind.
What seems to be totally lost on the governor is that unlimited and unchecked immigration, irrespective of any racial or ethnic makeup, is anathema to the notion of a sovereign America.
I felt that as a psychology teacher, who knows and teaches so much about human nature and emotions, to explode and get so angry was not the right thing to do.
Perhaps the new congresswoman should study up on the history of Israel’s international recognition as a sovereign state – even by the Palestinian Authority and the PLO.
Since the issue broke, The Jewish Press has consulted with several key figures from our community who have now assumed leadership roles on the issue – most notably Rav Yisroel Reisman, a rosh yeshiva at Torah Vodaath, and Rav Elya Brudny, a rosh yeshiva at the Mir.
Felder may have been the public face of the caucusing maneuver, but eight other elected Democrats also occasionally voted with the Republicans.
There are some savvy observers who are suggesting that old-time manipulation by key traders – and maybe even foreign powers – may be in play.
Lev Tahor reportedly avoids technology and requires its female members to wear black robes from head to toe.
The Trump Department of Education has now revised another, even more bizarre Obama Guidance, this one designed to apply to disciplinary actions in lower public school and ensure racial equity.
By noticing others, you are simply acknowledging that there are other people around you who have desires, lives, families, joys, aches, and hardships.
To be sure, we are concerned that the Turks and Saudis will not have the same deterrent effect on the Russians, Iranians, and Hezbollah vis-à-vis Israel as has the presence of U.S. military personnel.
As far as we can tell, there was nothing in his background that suggested that he would be anything but impartial and not a person with integrity.
Editor’s note: Antique Judaica Roadshow will appear monthly. We encourage readers to email pictures of their Judaica to Tsadik Kaplan at tsadik613@gmail.com. He may choose to assess your antiques in his future columns. Perhaps the most ubiquitous piece of Jewish ritual art in our society is the menorah. The Chanukah menorah as we know […]
Perhaps the Nazis could destroy the bodies of the Jews but not the Torah and the soul...
Yaakov's blessings conveyed to his children the characteristic at the epicenter of their being.
Is G-d our best friend? Do we think of Him first before anyone else?
By Hannah Rubin
The project had a dual objective: to alleviate these families’ financial woes, and to establish personal ties with them with the aim of showing that Jews in America cared.
Sometimes you are having a bad day. Nothing seems to be going as you expected. And then you see someone at work or school who needs help with something and you help them out.