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August 25, 2010
Writer’s novel views on Muslims, Jews
In Kamran Pasha’s new historical novel, “Shadow of the Swords” (Simon & Schuster: $16), a feisty, beautiful Jewish heroine named Miriam falls in love with the legendary Muslim sultan, Saladin, as he seeks to guard the Holy Land from the Third Crusades at the turn of the 12th century. If that doesn’t sound racy enough, Miriam is the fictional niece of Maimonides (aka Rambam for Jews and Ibn Maimum for Muslims), who is also Saladin’s trusted adviser and courtier.
Parashat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8)
All too often, we are confronted with life’s unfairness. How could someone so kind suffer so terribly? How could someone so ruthless enjoy wealth earned at the expense of the vulnerable and powerless? How is it that with greater or lesser frequency — and for better or worse — our own fate does not align with our virtue? Our despair or relief at such moral inequities reflects our intuitive expectation of just consequences for our choices and behavior. Given the Torah’s repeated assurances that adherence to God’s mandates begets material reward — and acting otherwise begets punishment — such inequities often give rise to personal crises of faith.
Jewish Education in the Age of Technology
Those of us who think that having schools put laptops in front of our students will prepare them for future changes in our society are sadly mistaken.
Teaching Holocaust lessons to YouTube generation
When comic book artist Neal Adams was 10 years old, he swore he would never get involved in anything related to the Holocaust.
New Jew Grad Gets Top Entrepreneur Scholarship
New Community Jewish High School 2010 graduate Shayna Turk was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by The National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation, with a scholarship sponsored by VISA.
Torah High, College Credit
Jewish teens will have the opportunity this school year to earn college credit for afterschool classes in subjects such as Hebrew language, Jewish law and Jewish history.
Jewish schools make strong showing in Kohl’s $10 million challenge
Dangle $500,000, and Jewish schools listen. At one point last week, Jewish schools held 14 of the top 25 spots to win the Kohl’s Cares Facebook popularity contest that will give away $10 million to the 20 schools that get the most votes. While the list is constantly changing, it seems Jewish schools are making a strong showing, especially Chabad schools. Four of the top five schools were Jewish — and three of those were Chabad schools. The top position, with nearly 64,000 votes, was held by Silverstein Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, N.Y.
Jewish day schools teach lessons of the Holocaust
For four L.A.-area Jewish day schools, the beginning of this school year also marks their second year teaching Facing History and Ourselves, a curriculum devoted to incorporating the messages of the Holocaust into everyday learning.
Chabad meets Napa
Rabbi Elchonon Tenenbaum, a 30-something Chabad rabbi fresh off the boat from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, moved to Napa Valley four years ago. The rabbi hadn’t seen many vineyards in his life, and he hadn’t drunk much kosher wine outside of the strange, sweet brew made from Concord grapes that gives kosher winemakers a bad name.
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