A Jewish community center in Paris that serves kosher meals to the poor was set on fire early Sunday morning. The soup kitchen, a converted synagogue on the ground floor of a five-story residential building on the Rue Popincourt in Paris\’ 11th District was partially destroyed. Anti-Semitic graffiti, Nazi symbols and references to Islam were found on the center\’s walls.
It is now two years since I moved to Calabasas to become the rabbi of a new Orthodox congregation. And there is no time like the eve of the Jewish New Year to take stock.
People said it couldn\’t be done. Some believed there was not much hope for an Orthodox synagogue in this community bordering the San Fernando and Conejo valleys, where expensive homes pepper the steep hills, because members would have to walk to services, and outsiders would be deterred from moving here because of the high price of housing.
What does $1,000 buy you these days in Jewish life?
Maybe, if you\’re lucky, a full-year family synagogue membership. But what exactly does that mean? Two tickets to High Holiday services? Free parking? Entree to Kiddushes?
At a time when families have limited time and money and so much competing for it, synagogue leaders are realizing the need to offer more to potential and existing congregant.
Ah, the High Holidays. Time to gather, celebrate, eat, fast, repent and eat some more. But before you can get to any of that, there\’s another, perhaps less-ancient tradition that takes place a few weeks prior. It\’s the High Holiday scramble, and anyone without deeply planted roots knows how the dance goes. Jewish New Year works much like Dec. 31: You don\’t want to be alone; there\’s pressure to have someplace to go; and for transplants, singles and others, the options are less obvious than a meal with the family and services at the synagogue where you grew up. A little originality is called for, and the industrious don\’t miss a beat.
Construction crews broke ground at the site of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue (MJCS) last week — two and a half years after the congregation held a gala groundbreaking celebration for the new $10 million building.
\”Building in Malibu is legendary — it\’s very difficult to get through the regulatory process. Thank God, we\’ve made it through all of that,\” said George Greenberg, congregation president.
For centuries, Persian Jews have traditionally raised funds for religious activities by auctioning off or bidding on aliyot, the bringing out of the Torah and other rituals during Shabbat and holiday services. But after 25 years in Los Angeles, Persian Jews are beginning to embrace the concept of membership.
Rabbi Ronald Shulman of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay wasn\’t seeking a new challenge when the leadership of Chizuk Amuno Congregation in Baltimore approached him a year ago about applying for a position as senior rabbi of the 1,400-member Conservative shul. Shulman was just coming off a high after being feted at a major celebration that drew 450 people in honor of his 20th anniversary as rabbi of the Rancho Palos Verdes synagogue.
Gal Fridman of Israel celebrates winning his gold medal in the men\’s windsurfer mistral finals race during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
A new study reveals that the Bush administration is succeeding beyond the most optimistic projections of supporters — and the most pessimistic fears of critics — in funneling government social service dollars to religious groups, despite the refusal of Congress to pass most of its faith-based initiative.
Last week the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy issued an exhaustive report indicated that religious groups \”are now involved in government-encouraged activities ranging from building strip malls for economic improvement to promoting child car seats.\”
Sinai Temple in Westwood has spent at least $365,000 annually on increased security since Sept. 11.
\”That\’s just for my manpower, to have bodies here when the building is open,\” said Howard Lesner, the Conservative synagogue\’s executive director, who gleans the extra security budget from a post-Sept. 11, $36-per-student fee at Sinai\’s day school and another $200-per-family temple fee.
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