Kosher Bookworm
598 results total, viewing 381 - 390
With Tisha B’Av now safely behind us, can Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur be not too far ahead? The High Holiday season will occur on the cusp of Labor Day weekend, one of the earliest such seasonal placements in memory. Due to this scheduling oddity, I have deemed this a major factor in the early consideration of the literary aspects that play an important part in the observance of these holidays. more
With the upcoming Fast of Tisha B’Av, it is appropriate to note the recent publication of a biography and historical analysis of one of the great prophets of our faith, Jeremiah, whose teachings are the featured prophetic readings that morning and whose scroll, Eichah (Lamentations) is the centerpiece reading the previous evening at the start of the fast. more
One hundred and fifty years ago this week, a battle was fought that was destined to define our nation for all time — not through the strategic military prowess of our troops, although that was a factor, nor through our overwhelming military might, but rather through a two minute speech that was to be given over four months later on that same battle site. more
Leibel Zisman was a survivor, of Kovno, of Auschwitz, of slave labor. He was a refugee from murder, genocide, and unbridled anti-Semitism. He was a Chabad chasid who was destined to survive all the difficulties of life to arrive at these blessed shores, learn English, receive a college degree, teach math, go into business, marry, establish a family, and spend the rest of his life helping others and making the giving of charity the hallmark of his life’s work. more
Only a British born and bred rabbi — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks — could have authored the following theologically-based teaching: “To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘The influence we have lives after us; the power is oft interred with our bones.’ Much of Judaism is an extended essay on the supremacy of prophets over kings, right over might, teaching rather than coercion, influence in place of power..." more
Among the classic writings concerning Jewish liturgy are two works from Chabad — an English translation of their prayer book, “Siddur Tehillat Hashem,” by Rabbi Nissen Mangel, and the classic detailed commentary and exposition of Jewish liturgy by Rabbi Dr. Nissan Mindel, zt”l, entitled, “My Prayer,” first published in 1972 and recently reissued by Kehot in a two volume revised edition. “My Prayer,” reflecting scholarship drawn from the works of Maimonides and Chasidic masters, presents a deeper meaning of the prayers and a comprehensive understanding of the moral and ethical teachings contained therein. more
The color blue has always played a role in both the religious and political traditions of our faith. This can be seen in the references in the ritual requirements of the mitzvah of Tzitzit in scripture, in prayer, and in ritual practice. more
Dr. Dov Levitan of Ashkelon College and Bar Ilan University has penned a most learned essay themed to last week’s Torah reading of Bha’alotcha entitled, “On the Connection Between the Menorah and the Land of Israel.” more
How ironic that a recently published history of the struggle to liberate Soviet captive Jewry begins with two words — Yosef Mendelevich. “When They Come For Us We’ll Be Gone,” by the skilled journalist and essayist Gal Beckerman [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010], describes the death and life struggle between Judaism and community Mendelevich personified, and which defined a generation of Jewish youth both in the Soviet Union and America. more
For most of our readers, the name Nathan Lopes Cardozo has a non-Jewish, exotic ring. Nevertheless, when you read on you will discover that with his name comes a gentleman whose legacy and ancestry bespeaks of a personal history that legends are made of. more
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