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studies

Education in the synagogue should aim for enhanced Jewish living

Synagogue membership that is diverse in background, knowledge, experience and interest also challenges synagogue leadership to be teachers of Judaism. That teaching must be guided by the conviction that Jewish literacy is not simply about book learning but also Jewish heritage and life.

There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on over Power Plate

The Power Plate features a vibrating platform that oscillates 30 to 50 times per second. Each time, it stimulates the nervous system and creates a reflex in the body that causes the muscles to contract. The Power Plate Web site lists dozens of college and professional sports teams as using vibration training in their regimens.

Jewish Studies Bug Bites Parents, Too

Eighteen months ago, when Lenard Cohen\’s 4-year-old daughter was enrolled in the family\’s congregational preschool, the Philadelphia-area father of three decided to go back to school himself.

Sonoma Plan Adds Flavor to Dull Diets

Dr. Connie Guttersen is on a mission to make America smaller. Well, perhaps not geographically, but at least to shrink the size of the average American.
Scientific studies have proven that weight-loss diets that are based on moderate amounts of the healthiest types of fats, such as olive oil, fish and nuts, are more effective long-term than traditional low-fat diets. And since the low-fat diet myth was busted recently with the publication of \”The Nurses\’ Health Study II,\” the public is struggling to determine what role fat should play in everyday meals.

Read All About It

Alberto Senderey is a model Jewish professional, and not just because he invited me as one of five Americans included for the four-day symposium in beautiful Oxford. An energetic, optimistic burst of Argentine energy, he recognized that Jewish media have a unique and underappreciated perspective on Jewish communal life.

Spy Kids’ Bar Mitzvah

It\’s not easy for a kid to find out that his parents are spies, and that he and his sister have to rescue them from evildoers.

But it\’s not as hard as trying to learn Hebrew from scratch in six months for a bar mitzvah — especially when the spy scenario is fictional and the bar mitzvah is real.

So it was for Daryl Sabara, the cherubic red-headed star of three \”Spy Kids\” films. He and his twin brother, Evan, also an actor who appeared in \”Spy Kids,\” were bar mitzvahed at Chabad of Brentwood last month after studying with the synagogue\’s rabbi, Baruch Hecht, for half a year.

As professional actors, it would have been a cinch for the Sabaras to memorize their Torah portion phonetically, just like many kids who don\’t know Hebrew. But the twins really wanted to learn Hebrew — and about their heritage.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.