Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Our parashah for this Shabbat continues with report of Abraham’s and Sarah’s journey. Both welcome the three unknown visitors and learn from them that Sarah will soon bear a son, despite of her old age. As the visitors had predicted,…
A haredi Orthodox lawmaker in Israel compared the Women of the Wall organization to the Muslim Murabitat, a banned group of women who harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount. “The Murabitat women receive money from the Islamic Movement to create provocation and…
“Mitzvah”, a wonderfully expressive Hebrew word, has two distinct meanings. The first is a commandment of the Jewish law; the second is a meritorious or charitable act. For the “Mitzvah Day 2015” on 22 November 2015, various religious groups have…
The Torah tells us very little about Abram’s early life. We are only informed that he and Sarai, along with his nephew Lot, were brought by his father, Terach, from Ur to Haran. After Terach’s death, Abram was commanded by…
Have you asked yourself how life would be for you if you were born into a different time? Somewhere in the past or in the future? Would you be a different person? In this week’s Torah portion, as we read…
The ambition in many quarters in Israel is that now when the peace process is going nowhere and the Oslo Accords are falling apart, we should abandon the idea of a two-state solution and work towards one state with a…
It doesn’t matter how many years you live in Jerusalem, if that is all your life or just some years, the magic of this holy city fills your soul, and your heart. You can close your eyes and see all…
“You shall live in Sukkot seven days; all citizens of Israel shall live in Sukkot, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in Sukkot when I brought them out of the land of…
Sukkot is one of my favourite festivals since my childhood in Israel, its the holiday of the open tent. We marry under a chuppah that is open on all sides to remind us of the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim (…
Our Jewish tradition says that immediately at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, one should occupy oneself with the mitzvah of building the sukkah. Typically, one engages in a symbolic act of sukkah building as a way of showing one’s enthusiasm…