The Jewish character has become the American Jewish character, disassociated from an ethnic history and assimilated into American culture. And the assimilation hasn\’t only been for Jews.
\” . . . In a business deal, he\’s going to try to kill for you, and its just going to be about putting as much money in your pocket as he can, until you tell him that there\’s something else that\’s important to you . . . \” — Aaron Sorkin
\” . . . Do I like to have fun? Yeah. Do I like to enjoy myself, enjoy my life? Yeah. But I\’m not a decadent person. I\’m not into dark stuff. I\’m just a nice Jewish kid from Miami Beach who loves movies and pretty girls . . . .\”
The U\’netaneh Tokef prayer-poem (who shall live and who shall die) can be seen as ominous or beautiful, depending upon the prism of the interpreter. Rabbi Naomi Levy pointed out that the prayer was written by \”one dude\” and should not be seen as a divine writ.
Watch the Torah Slam in this video from our friends at the title=\”J T N\” target=\”_blank\”>Jewish Television Network
For as long as rabbis have been arguing Talmud, their wives have been at home preparing Shabbat dinner. Yet that image, along with expectations for clergy spouses, has evolved. For one, they\’re no longer all women. They\’re no longer always hovering in the background. And they\’re not always different genders.
Photo: Rabbi Brian, Rabbi Deborah and Heshel Schuldenfrei
Rhoda Weisman, executive director of the Professional Leaders Project, which is designed to engender and support a new generation of leaders in the Jewish community, talks about why the Jewish establishment needs to change, why young leaders are just as crucial as big donors and what it\’s like to be a woman at the top.
The bulk of the upswing in support has come from synagogues, where lay leaders have taken an active role in engaging with legislators, and rabbis increasingly use their pulpits to educate congregants on how to support the Jewish state short of living there
