What was the Ark of the Covenant?
Wednesday July 30, 2008
The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Tabernacle, was the chest which held the two stone tablets of law which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. Read more ... Read More
Cairo Conversion
Tuesday July 29, 2008
"I am a 21-year-old Egyptian Muslim. For two years I have been trying to convert to Judaism, but I have failed to find a rabbi here who can help me. ... Read More
Obama at the Western Wall: Sacrilegious, Criminal or Both?
Sunday July 27, 2008
Following the removal of US presidential candidate Barack Obama's note from the Western Wall, Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich said "This sacrilegious action deserves sharp condemnation and represents a desecration ... Read More
Traveler's Prayer
Thursday July 24, 2008
In a few hours I will be boarding a plane and flying with my four children from Israel to the States. While I love to travel, I sometimes feel jittery ... Read More
Shehechiyanu Blessing
Wednesday July 23, 2008
Judaism's Shehechiyanu blessing thanks God for sustaining our lives so we could experience this moment of joy. Learn more about why and when this Jewish blessing of appreciation for the ... Read More
Three Weeks of Mourning
Monday July 21, 2008
Today, the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, is a fast day which commemorates the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. A three-week period of mourning begins today ... Read More
Lebanon Celebrates, Israel Mourns
Thursday July 17, 2008
Lebanon celebrated the release of convicted killer Samir Kuntar, and Israel mourned the deaths of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev following yesterday's dramatic prisoner swap."The joys of a nation is ... Read More
The Fish and the Shark, by Gilad Shalit
Tuesday July 15, 2008
Gilad Shalit, at age 11, wrote a story that indicts parents for teaching hatred and credits children with knowing the way to peace. Eight years later, Gilad was captured in ... Read More
Shira Hadasha is a New Song
Monday July 14, 2008
In Jerusalem in 2001, a group of orthodox residents, who yearned for a more equalitarian prayer service, founded a new minyan - Shira Hadasha (A New Song). The service increases ... Read More
American Bar and Bat Mitzvah Celebrations in Jerusalem
Tuesday July 8, 2008
Why do some Americans teens and their families travel to Israel to celebrate their bar and bat mitzvahs? What do American Jews gain by having their bar or bat mitzvah ... Read More
Jerusalem's Changing Demographics
Monday July 7, 2008
As Jerusalem’s Arab population swells and Jewish population shrinks, Israelis are becoming increasingly concerned about the difficulty of maintaining Jerusalem’s status as the eternal capital of the Jewish State in ... Read More
Photos of Jerusalem's Old City: People and Places
Monday July 7, 2008
On a recent walk through Jerusalem's Old City, I snapped these photos for your viewing pleasure.
Jerusalem's Old City: People
Jerusalem's Old City: Places
Photo © 2006 Marc Herman, licensed to About.com, Inc
Photos of Jerusalem's Old City
Sunday July 6, 2008
Jerusalem, Yerushalayim in Hebrew and Al Quds in Arabic, is the capital and largest city of Israel. The city is considered a holy city by adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and ... Read More
What was the Second Temple?
Saturday July 5, 2008
The Second Temple, a reconstruction of Solomon's First Temple in Jerusalem, stood between 515 BCE and 70 CE. What remains of the Second Temple today?
American Jewish History in a Nutshell
Thursday July 3, 2008
I felt surprised and moved when I discovered the similarity between general American Jewish history and my own family tree. Do you see your own story within this larger story, ... Read More
Henrietta's Hadassah
Thursday July 3, 2008
My friend Debbie gave me the most wonderful birthday gift! This year, thanks to Debbie, I am a member of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. While I have ... Read More
The First Jew to Live in America?
Wednesday July 2, 2008
Who was the first Jew to live in the newly discovered American continent? In 1585, Joachim Gaunse, a Jewish metallurgist and mining engineer from Prague, landed in Virginia as part ... Read More