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Jewish Journal

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May 29, 2025

Sephardic Torah from the Holy Land | The Mystical Zionist Tikkun Leil Shavuot

Sephardic Torah /

Erev Shavuot, Salonika, 1533. Two young Sephardic rabbinic luminaries – Rav Yosef Karo and Rav Shlomo Alkabetz – got together for Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the all night Torah study custom first mentioned in “The Zohar,” Judaism’s classic Kabbalistic book.

On that Shavuot in 1533, Rav Yosef Karo (who later authored the Shulhan Arukh, Judaism’s most authoritative code of Jewish law) and Rav Shlomo Alkabetz (composer of the famous Lekha Dodi poem chanted every Friday night) – had a deeply impactful and life-changing mystical experience. Both having been expelled from Spain with their families in 1492, this Shavuot experience would change their lives, and, ultimately, that of the Jewish people.

On that night, when Rav Karo studied Mishnah, Rav Alkabetz and the Haverim in the Beit Midrash heard the voice of the Shekhina emerge from Rav Karo’s mouth, saying: “Stand upon your feet and raise me up.”

Whenever Rav Yosef Karo studied the Mishnah, a high pitched voice would overtake him, revealing mysterious secrets of the Torah. Rav Karo recorded these mystical experiences in a book titled Maggid Mesharim. The “Maggid” (“teller”) was the Shekhina – the mystical, prophetic, female voice of God.

What did the Shekhina mean by “Stand upon your feet and raise me up”?

Upon hearing the voice of the Shekhina that night, Rav Karo and Rav Alkabetz created a grouping of Torah texts that had a powerful message and purpose. The texts were about the Creation of the World, the Revelation on Mt. Sinai and the account of Ezra and Nehemia’s return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. These texts formed a pattern – Creation, Revelation, Redemption – symbolic of the “from exile to redemption” paradigm.

When studying these texts, the Shekhinah spoke to them again, clarifying the phrase “Stand upon your feet and raise me up.”

Said the Shekhinah: “Go up to the Land of Israel, for not all times are opportune.”

The Shekhina commanded Rav Karo and Rav Alkabetz to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, and by doing so, bringing the Shekhinah out of exile and back to the Holy Land: “Stand upon your feet and raise me up. Go up to the Land of Israel, for not all times are opportune.”

Three years later, the Karo and Alkabetz families set sail for the Land of Israel. They settled in Safed, setting the stage for a new “Golden Age” – not in Spain, but in Israel.

This was the Golden Age of Kabbala and Mysticism, where they composed works of Jewish law, mysticism, Torah commentary and poetry that would affect the entire Jewish world until this day.

But in addition to Kabbalah, that Tikkun Leil Shavuot also inspired making “Aliyah” to Eretz Yisrael – because “the time was opportune for them to go up to the Land of Israel.”

It still is today.

Chag Shavuot Sameah.

Rabbi Daniel Bouskila is the international director of the Sephardic Educational Center.

Sephardic Torah from the Holy Land | The Mystical Zionist Tikkun Leil Shavuot Read More »

Rabbis of LA | Rabbi David Woznica: The Lifelong Learner

Rabbis of LA /

When visiting with Rabbi David Woznica of Stephen Wise Temple it’s important to sit close by. The modest, soft-spoken Los Angeles native, who started his career at New York City’s 92nd Street Y, was talking to The Journal about growing up in what he called the “old country,” North Hollywood. That is where his late Polish-born father, Sam Woznica, owned a well-known Arco gas station for decades at the intersection of Moorpark and Whitsett in Studio City. 

With a sly grin Rabbi Woznica looked back on those childhood days: “I never would say I know more about anything than any other rabbi. That would not endear me to anybody. But I do know more about carburetors.”

The oldest of Sue and Sam Woznica’s three children used to love hanging out at his father’s full-service gas station, He spoke about how his Holocaust-survivor father knew most of his customers by name, washed their windows, pounded carburetors into place – not necessarily the way it was recommended — and made them click.

Rabbi Woznica presently is taking a class with Chabad, and the lessons can seep into his daily email to the Stephen Wise congregation. “I recently took a class about the teachings of the [Chabad] Rebbe,” the rabbi said. “The Rebbe talked about the importance of just doing the mitzvah. I am paraphrasing, but he taught ‘Don’t think about it a lot. Just do it.’”

This topic brought back memories of his college days at UCLA. He remembered strolling up Bruin Walk where he would encounter Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz, of blessed memory. “Schwartzie would walk up to us, and he would say ‘Did you put on tefillin today?’ I was thinking about this on my way home from class that night. “I would sheepishly walk over [to Schwartzie] and say ‘No, I didn’t put on tefillin,’ and I am going to be embarrassed.” 

 It occurred to him that what Rabbi Schwartz did not do was hand him a booklet explaining to him the purpose of tefillin. “He just said ‘do it.’ I should read about it and understand. But that is an example of the Rebbe’s great insights ‘Do it. Do the mitzvah. How we act,’ the rabbi said, ‘affects much more the way we think than we know.’ If you want to think like a good person, act like a good person.” Sam Woznica may or may not have phrased it that way, but growing up, Sam’s first-born learned and employed life lessons by the sensitive way his father treated his customers.

While Rabbi Woznica, who recently turned 70, grew up at Adat Ari El – located in what is now called Valley Village — he is old enough to remember when the Conservative synagogue went by its original name, the Valley Jewish Community Center, and Rabbis Aaron Wise and Moshe Rothblum were the leaders.

Sue Woznica, the rabbi’s “nearly” 98-year-old mother, shares his love of learning. “She loves Judaica, and she is a passionate Sephardic Jew who grew up in Atlanta.” She has, the rabbi said, been taking Wednesday classes at Adat, for 50 years. “We do not schedule appointments for her on Wednesdays, because her classes at Adat are sacrosanct. She takes notes, too.”

Rabbi Woznica reflected on a recent phone call with his mother on his 70th birthday. “I called and said ‘Hi, Mom.’ She said ‘How are you, Honey?’ I said ‘Fine. What did you learn in school today?’” He followed that up by asking “Mom, how many 70-year-old men get to call their mother and say ‘What did you learn in school today?’” 

While he proudly learns from Orthodox teachers, grew up Conservative and now helps lead one of the most prestigious Reform synagogues, Rabbi Woznica is a model for line-crossers in Jewish life. But how did growing up with an Ashkenazic father and Sephardic mother impact his Judaism? “It meant on Passover we ate nothing,” he said with a hearty laugh. “We joke about it all the time.” Is he more Ashkenazic or Sephardic? “The Sephardim,” he explained, “have a verve, a love, a passion. Ashkenazim are a little more particular about certain things.”

The rabbi launched his career at one of the more prestigious addresses in Jewish life, the 92nd St.Y in New York. He was the founding director of the 92nd St. Y Bronfman Center for Jewish Life for more than a decade. He characterizes the Young Men and Young Women’s Hebrew Assn. he led as “a community center unlike any other in the world, literally.” He described the Y as “probably the premiere lecture platform in the world. We would have the Poet Laureate Maya Angelou on a Monday night, and I might interview Elie Wiesel on Tuesday nights. Or Václav Havel or Boris Yeltsin on Wednesday nights. Half a million people walk in their doors a year. It continues to thrive. It’s like the Carnegie Hall of Jewish life.”

Before accepting the 92nd St. Y leadership post, he had an opportunity for a prestigious position with the influential Orthodox Rabbi Yitz Greenberg’s National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.  “I had a tug,” the rabbi said. As he looked back at the 35 years since his ordination, he said“I have had a very exciting rabbinate,” 11 years at the 92nd St. Y and 21 at Wise.  So why did he move to L.A.? While Woznica insisted he was fulfilled in New York, “my wife Beverly and I wanted our grandchildren, who are here, to know their grandparents.”

“‘How we act,’ the rabbi said, ‘affects much more the way we think than we know.’ If you want to think like a good person, act like a good person.”

Fast Takes with Rabbi Woznica

Jewish Journal: Your favorite Jewish food?

Rabbi Woznica: Food for thought – because it often lasts beyond the meal.

J.J.: If not the rabbinate, what career might you have chosen?

Rabbi Woznica: I studied psychology as an undergrad because I am fascinated with the working of the mind. Or perhaps something in business. 

J.J.: Your favorite Shabbat moment?

Rabbi Woznica: At the Friday Shabbat table when my wife Beverly and I lay our hands on our two children and daughter-in-law and offer personal and traditional blessing.

Rabbis of LA | Rabbi David Woznica: The Lifelong Learner Read More »

From Babylon to Oct. 7: A Soulful Chronicle of the Jewish People

Books /

Sara Shai’s “As My Soul Speaks” is an epic novel that traces the arc of Jewish history, from the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., through centuries of diaspora, all the way to the devastating events of Oct. 7, 2023.

At the heart of the novel is the Lahmi family — in particular Gabriella — a young woman with a rare spiritual sensitivity who is guided by a mysterious divine presence known as The Witness.

Told through the inner voices of Gabriella and The Witness, the novel explores themes of faith, identity, resilience, and the deep spiritual connection between the Jewish people and God. Gabriella’s journey raises profound questions: what are the roots of antisemitism throughout history? What sacred bond has sustained the Jewish people through exile and persecution?

Blending historical narrative with mysticism, “As My Soul Speaks” offers a powerful reflection on survival, devotion, and hope—deeply relevant both to current events and eternal truths.

Shai, an Iraqi-born artist who emigrated to Israel with her family at age three and has lived in Los Angeles for the past 50 years, began writing the book in 2022, but when the Oct. 7 attacks occurred, she found herself unable to continue. “I said to God, ‘I’m not writing another word until you explain to me why this happened,’” she said, her voice trembling. “I remember working in my garden, meditating, and doing deep introspection. After two months, I felt I had received an answer — and then I was able to continue writing.”

I met Shai at her beautiful home in Woodland Hills, surrounded by her artwork. Paintings and impressive stone and marble sculptures adorn every corner of the house and garden. This is her kingdom. If she’s not sculpting in her studio, she’s outside carving a sculpture under the open sky. “I’ve been passionate about art since I was young, but I didn’t pursue it seriously until I was 30,” she said. 

That delay goes back to her childhood in Israel. In eighth grade, a teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up. Shy and soft-spoken, Shai raised her hand and said she wanted to be an artist. The class burst out laughing—and the teacher laughed with them. Shai buried her dream for years.

Many years later, while traveling in Spain, she had a moment that rekindled her passion. “There was a street artist painting on the sidewalk. He painted for hours, people came and went, but I just stood there watching. Eventually, he asked me if I wanted to try. I said yes and began to draw. He looked at it and said, ‘Primitive art.’ I was so happy. Someone had called it art.”

That encounter changed everything. When she returned to Los Angeles, Shai began painting again, but she soon realized her true passion was sculpture.

 “In one of my painting classes, someone told me about a sculpture class taught by Manuel Mani in Sepulveda. I signed up and started carving stone. People see a rock on the street and think it’s just a rock. But to me, it’s something else,” Shai said. “I never plan what I’m going to sculpt. I start working, and the stone reveals to me what it wants to become — what’s inside.”

“As My Soul Speaks” is Shai’s second book. Her first, “Beautiful in Black,” published in 2006, explores how we deal with grief and our capacity to heal and rise above it.

The new novel, published on May 6, is rooted in stories Shai heard from family and friends, as well as her own life experiences.

“I wanted to tell a story about a family and through them, tell the history of the Jewish people,” she said. “I chose to include The Witness because it gave me a way to share my personal insights. I’m a yogi, deeply spiritual, and I meditate regularly. The Witness gave me a platform to express those thoughts. He follows the characters throughout the book and occasionally offers moments of illumination. No one hears him except Gabriella, and only at the end does she meet him face-to-face.”

The novel begins with the Babylonian exile and follows a Jewish family through centuries of history, including captivating stories passed down in Shai’s own family. 

One such story stands out. “In Iraq, my family had great reverence for the prophet Ezekiel. Before leaving Iraq for Israel, my mother went to his tomb and vowed that if God ever gave her a son, she would name him after the prophet. After my family made aliyah, she did give birth to a son —  but he was gravely ill, and in her distress, she forgot about the vow. Shortly after, she dreamed of Ezekiel, sitting naked and saying to her, ‘You forgot me.’ She woke up and told the family about the strange dream. They asked if she had made a vow — and that’s when she remembered. My parents rushed to the hospital where my brother was, and named him Yehezkel (Ezekiel in Hebrew). The very next day, he recovered and was sent home.”

The writing process, Shai said, transformed her. “The Witness represents a divine presence. I gave it a voice and an identity. It’s energy, and because of that, I never feel alone. I communicate through intuition and feeling.”

 “This book,” she said, “was written to show the world the strength of the Jewish people and why we’ve been persecuted throughout history.”

“I want people to understand that the hatred toward Jews is not about land. It’s about consciousness. Those who hate us can’t stand the light. I believe this world we live in is made of opposites, good and evil, high and low, darkness and light. The Jewish people took on the responsibility of guarding the light and when the light dims, the darkness grows.”

“As My Soul Speaks” is available on Amazon.  

From Babylon to Oct. 7: A Soulful Chronicle of the Jewish People Read More »

I Testified in Sacramento to Defend Jewish Identity in Our Schools. The Fight Is Bigger Than You Think.

Commentary, Opinion /

Flying to the California state capital to testify before the Education Committee on behalf of a bill wasn’t on my to-do list last week. But there are moments when civic responsibility overrides convenience. This was one of them.

Assembly Bill 715 is not radical. It is remedial. The legislation, introduced by Assemblymembers Rick Zbur and Dawn Addis, seeks to ensure that California’s ethnic studies curriculum includes education on Jewish identity, the reality of antisemitism, and the State of Israel. Its aim is straightforward: to prevent the erasure and misrepresentation of an American minority whose story is too often either caricatured or ignored.

That this bill is necessary at all speaks volumes about how far the state’s educational discourse has drifted from balance and integrity.

In 2019, California unveiled a draft ethnic studies model curriculum that excluded Jews almost entirely—except in moments where they were cast as privileged, white, or colonial. Zionism was reframed as oppression; antisemitism was sidelined. The outcry was swift, and the draft was eventually revised. But the ideological residue remains. School districts across the state continue to adopt frameworks influenced by that original draft or consult with groups like the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium—organizations that openly champion anti-Zionist and antisemitic content under the guise of liberation.

This is not a theoretical concern.

In Santa Ana, a district was sued for quietly adopting materials laced with antisemitic tropes. In Campbell Union, students presented Israel as a genocidal regime. In Oakland, a federal investigation is underway after a teacher was accused of promoting antisemitic materials and silencing dissenting students.

So I flew to Sacramento because I believe our children have a right to be seen clearly and taught honestly. Because if we don’t speak for Jewish students, we forfeit the right to ask why their identities are later misunderstood or maligned.

The contrast between sides was telling.

The opposition arrived early and in force—well-rehearsed activists, some affiliated with radical campus groups, others with ethnic studies consulting firms. Many wore keffiyehs or anti-Zionist slogans. Their message was coherent, consistent and aligned. This movement knows how to occupy space—physical, rhetorical, and institutional.

By contrast, our group was modest. It was a small coalition of Jewish parents, educators and community members organized by JPAC. We came not with slogans but with testimony—personal, principled and grounded in lived experience. Many of us wore yellow ribbons for the hostages still held in Gaza. Mine was a pin given to me by Noa Argamani, a survivor of Hamas captivity and, to me, a reminder of Jewish resilience.

Inside, a seventh-grade girl delivered searing testimony about the antisemitism she faced at school. I followed, identifying myself as a journalist and a mother of three Jewish children who deserve to grow up safe, visible and understood.

We were given seconds to speak. The opposition, however, was ready and relentless. Dozens lined up in coordinated opposition to the bill. Their discipline was unmistakable.

This is not fringe. It is a well-funded, highly organized ideological infrastructure that has methodically embedded itself in our education system. Its influence extends from local school boards to the state legislature. And while it cloaks itself in the language of justice, its tactics frequently rely on distortion, dehumanization and intimidation.

Yes, the bill passed the committee unanimously, which is a welcome outcome. But let us not confuse procedural progress with structural change. The machinery that produced the original erasure remains in place. The campaign to recast Jewish identity as illegitimate is ongoing, and it is gaining ground.

And what has our communal response been?

Too often, we’ve mistaken expression for impact. We post, grieve and signal our outrage in pixels and stories. But political power is not generated by sentiment. It is built through sustained, strategic presence.

The other side shows up—in numbers, with clarity, repeatedly. We must do the same.
If we want our children to be taught truthfully—if we want Jewish identity to be represented with integrity, not flattened or vilified—we must act with intention and consistency.

Start with your local school board. Ask to see the ethnic studies materials being used. Demand transparency. Call your state representatives and express support for AB 715. Organize five friends to do the same. Submit public comments. Attend hearings, even virtually. Ask tough questions. Expect answers.

This is what the other side is doing. Quietly. Persistently. Effectively.

And if we don’t match their intensity, we will lose ground we didn’t even know we had to defend. What’s happening in California is a test case. And the country is watching. If antisemitism can be legitimized through curriculum here, it will spread, codified in lesson plans, reinforced in pedagogy, and disguised as justice.

Jewish history is filled with people who stood up when it mattered, often at significant cost. We honor their legacy not simply by remembering their courage, but by replicating it. That means showing up—not just when it’s convenient or symbolic, but when it counts.

The future we fear is the one we’re allowing to form right now. That’s why I’ll be back in Sacramento. Not because I have time. Not because I want to. But we can’t sound the alarm tomorrow if we stay silent today.

Jacki Karsh is a six time Emmy-nominated multimedia journalist.

I Testified in Sacramento to Defend Jewish Identity in Our Schools. The Fight Is Bigger Than You Think. Read More »

Two Days Too Late: How a Missed Diagnosis Changed a Family’s Life Forever

Community /

Two days. That’s all it took for Julie Raskin’s son to suffer brain damage — because he wasn’t immediately diagnosed at birth with Congenital Hyperinsulinism (HI), a rare disease primarily affecting Ashkenazi Jews that causes severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

Those two days didn’t just change Ben’s fate — they also changed his mother’s life forever. At the time, Raskin was working at New York University and had planned to take a three-month maternity leave before returning to work. But everything shifted once she realized what it meant to care for a child with a disability. Ben became her full-time responsibility, requiring constant medical treatments, surgeries, therapies and ongoing care.

“I was able to take six months maternity leave and then worked from home,” she said. “But when Ben was two-and-a-half years old, he had another emergency. His blood sugar dropped dangerously low, and I had to rush him back to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for treatment. I loved my job but realized it would be impossible to continue working, and I had to leave.”

From the start, Raskin sensed something wasn’t right. Ben nursed ravenously at first, then suddenly became lethargic and uninterested in feeding. She remembers how, after they returned home, he slept through the night — highly unusual for a newborn. When she voiced her concerns, her doctor brushed them off.

“He’s a perfectly normal baby,” he told her.

Two days after they brought Ben home, Raskin and her husband Mark were back at the hospital. Ben’s blood sugar was too low to even be measured. Doctors couldn’t figure out the cause, and it took 10 days to receive a diagnosis: Congenital Hyperinsulinism. Ben was transported to CHOP, where he was diagnosed with diffuse disease and underwent three surgeries — the last to remove part of his pancreas that had regenerated.

“You’re going home with this precious baby and all you want is to make sure there’s no further brain injury. You want your child to develop to their full potential, and suddenly, it’s all on you,” said Raskin. “The fear of hypoglycemia is huge — you feel like your life is ruled by it.”

Raskin and her husband already had a two-year-old daughter, Hannah, when Ben was born. Hannah was very excited to have a little brother. 

“She was a little trooper and bounced back and forth between our parents and us while we were at the hospital with Ben,” said Raskin. 

For the first three-and-a-half months of his life, Ben was hospitalized. When he finally came home, he required constant care and frequent feedings because of his condition. 

“The nursing agency quickly realized that we would need much more than one nurse, and we ended up with help around the clock,” said Raskin. “That support allowed us to spend some time with our daughter, to take her out and do things together.”

At first, Raskin admitted, she felt overwhelmed with guilt. She questioned herself — why hadn’t she insisted that something was wrong? Why didn’t she speak up more forcefully? “If I had only stood up for what I believed in, something I had done so many times before in my life, but this was the first time it really, really mattered. The consequences of staying silent were enormous,” she said. “But in retrospect, I was a postpartum mom. It shouldn’t have been my responsibility to fight against the entire healthcare system. We need a system in place to screen for these babies so they don’t suffer preventable neurological damage.”

The need for a supportive community led her to found Congenital Hyperinsulinism International (CHI) in 2005. “While Ben was being treated at CHOP, I met two other families going through the same thing, and we started an email discussion group,” Raskin said. “We thought maybe one or two people would join — but dozens upon dozens did, and it became a lifeline. I would go to my office and connect with parents from all over the world. We shared what we were going through.”

What started as an online support group became much more. Through parents’ experiences with their children, doctors and researchers have been able to learn more about the disease, recognize patterns, and hopefully develop a special treatment. 

Ben, now 29, has diabetes, low vision, and difficulty with motor skills as a result of his unrecognized low blood sugar as a newborn. He lives a mile away from his parents’ home in an apartment building for people who are either older or have disabilities. He has many friends and sees his family often.

Knowing there was a high likelihood of having another child with the disease, Julie and Mark chose not to have more children. Caring for Ben was also an extremely demanding job.

“The HI lifestyle, with its constant worries about lows and brain damage, sometimes sets us apart from our local communities,” Julie says. “When we get together at conferences, it’s like coming home to an extended family that gets it.”

HI is very rare, affecting approximately one in every 28,000 live births. Raskin has dedicated her life to raising awareness about the disease. She also hosts a podcast where she and other parents share their stories and experiences. June 7 is Congenital Hyperinsulinism Awareness Day. Raskin hopes couples — especially those who are both Ashkenazi Jews — will learn about the condition and consider genetic screening.

Despite his disability and the challenges he faces, Ben is a very positive young man, often seen smiling and happy. In a video Raskin shared on the organization’s website, Ben said “I’m a college student at a school at Landmark, which is designed for people who learn differently. It’s a great place to challenge yourself and open yourself to something that you don’t think you usually do. It’s a day-by-day thing, it will get better, and good things will happen to you. Good things are always happening.”

For further information please visit: congenitalhi.org

Two Days Too Late: How a Missed Diagnosis Changed a Family’s Life Forever Read More »

Campus Watch May 22, 2025

Campus Watch, Community /

Trump Admin Says Columbia Violated Federal Law in Handling of Antisemitism on Campus

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on May 22 that its Office of Civil Rights (OCR) had concluded that Columbia University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, as the university had acted “with deliberate indifference towards student-on-student harassment of Jewish students from October 7, 2023, through the present.”

OCR had concluded that, among other things, the university failed to enforce its time, place and manner restrictions and properly follow its procedures when it came to handling reports of antisemitism. “The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety, and well-being,” Anthony Archeval, Acting Director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS said in a statement. “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.”

The university said in a May 23 statement, “We understand this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the government … We take these issues seriously and will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.”

GWU Bars Commencement Speaker from Campus After Making Anti-Israel Remarks

George Washington University (GWU) announced on May 19 that it has barred a student commencement speaker from campus after the speaker made anti-Israel remarks during her address.

The speaker, Cecilia Culver, said in her commencement speech to the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, per Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA): “For over a year, we have watched a genocide be committed against Palestinians … I am ashamed that my own tuition is being used to fund genocide.”

The university said in a May 19 statement that Culver’s submitted and rehearsed remarks were “very different” and that she “has been barred from all GW’s campuses and sponsored events elsewhere.” A review of the matter is ongoing.

Columbia Grad Accuses Student Paper of Firing Her “For Being an Orthodox Jew”

Eliana Goldin, a recent graduate of Columbia University, accused The Columbia Daily Spectator of firing her “for being an Orthodox Jew” in a viral thread on X on May 20.

Goldin explained in her thread that she had been a staff writer for two years and then became a senior staff writer; she had taken a break in Sept. 2023, and then returned as a columnist for the paper in Feb. 2024 to discuss “common ground” between Jews and Palestinians. Her column was canceled after an old poll of hers asking “would you k*ll someone for Amalek,” surfaced on social media, prompting accusations that she was calling for the death of Palestinians. Goldin explained to the Spectator that “the question of Amalek is akin to the Binding of Isaac — a Jewish thought experiment on whether you would go against your own personal morality to follow God’s morality” and was unrelated to the Palestinians, but the editors were unmoved. They subsequently published “an op-ed a few days later that said a Columbia student (me) was calling for the deaths of Palestinians on campus, and they linked to my Instagram poll.” Goldin further told The Forward that the answer to her poll was an obvious “no.”

Milène Klein, the deputy editorial page director of the Spectator, told The Forward that her column was canceled for safety reasons due to “the extreme amount of harassment that she was receiving and the fear that she was expressing,” and that Goldin wasn’t fired, as she was a contributor, not a staff member. Goldin “was welcome to continue writing op-eds for Spectator,” claimed Klein, who is Jewish. Goldin did co-author another op-ed for the paper in July 2024.

Goldin replied on X: “The Spectator claims they fired me to ‘protect’ me. If that was true, they wouldn’t have published the very thing that put me in danger in the first place. When Spec fired me, they put me more in danger by tacitly confirming lies and fueling rumors.”

Dartmouth Rejects BDS Proposal

Dartmouth College’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility rejected a divestment proposal on May 20 that called on the college to divest from six arms manufacturers that conduct business with Israel.

The Dartmouth reported that the committee concluded that the proposal did not meet their five-point criteria for passage, which included that it receives consensus from the community and that it did not “sufficiently engage the matter of whether its suggested divestment would facilitate additional dialogue on campus.” Dartmouth Divest for Palestine, the anti-Israel coalition behind the proposal, told The Dartmouth that they were “disappointed,” as “such investments are not in keeping with Dartmouth’s academic mission and its responsibility to its community and the broader world.”

Campus Watch May 22, 2025 Read More »

Shavuot Dairy Recipes: Beyond Cheesecake

Food /

While many associate Shavuot with cheesecake, there are plenty of delicious dairy recipes to get excited about! Here are a few favorites to try this year.

OneTable Together director Susan Salzman loves her baked eggs aka crustless quiche recipe, as does everyone she serves it to. “This recipe has been in my collection for over 20 years and it is one of my biggest crowd pleasers,” Salzman told The Journal. “It can be assembled the day before, requires one bowl, easily uses cooking staples and the leftovers are a welcome treat.” She added, “It’s perfect for putting in the oven after a late night celebrating Shavuot, and light enough to leave room for some cheesecake later.”

Crustless Quiche

Serves 10-12. Goes great with a simple fruit salad

57 grams | 4 oz | 1/2 cup unsalted, grass-fed butter, melted

70 grams | 2.5 oz | 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

10 large organic whole eggs, well-beaten

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 7 oz can diced green chilies

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

1 pound grated Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9×13 inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Combine all ingredients, except for the eggs. Mix well.

Add beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. 

Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Melt 2 additional tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the top of the egg mixture.

Place in the middle of your preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until lightly brown and bubbly on the sides.

Let rest for 5-7 minutes before cutting and serving.

Note: This can be made and assembled the day before. Place the baking dish in the fridge, covered. Take it out of the fridge one hour before you are ready to bake, so it can come to room temperature.

Cheese bourekas are also often associated with Shavuot. After all, these golden, flaky pockets of puff pastry, filled with gooey, savory cheese, are impossible to resist. “It’s one of our favorite ways to get ready for Chag Matan Torah — easy enough for little hands to help, and fun enough to keep everyone engaged,” Debbie Kornberg, founder of Spice + Leaf, told The Journal. “There’s something special about shaping each boureka together, filling the kitchen with laughter and anticipation … it’s more than just cooking, it’s creating memories rooted in tradition.”

Cheese Bourekas

By Debbie Kornberg

1 package of Puff Pastry Dough (2 sheets or a stack of squares) Make sure it is thawed and not frozen

7 oz feta or Bulgarian cheese (crumbled or block)

8 oz cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

2 Eggs

1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

Optional: SPICE + LEAF Nigella Seeds. These seeds are heart healthy and have a wonderful earthy flavor to them.

Also, have 1 Tbsp cornstarch on hand in case the mixture is too wet

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a bowl, mix together all of the cheeses with 1 egg. Make sure the egg is incorporated into the cheese mixture fully. If cheese seems too wet and loose, add 1/2 Tbsp. of cornstarch and mix. Add more as needed. Set aside. 

Using a clean countertop or cutting board, take puff pastry dough and cut into squares or use precut squares. 

Next take a small spoon, gently place cheese filling into the center of the square and fold over into a triangle. Pinch all sides together to ensure a good seal. Fold each edge underneath the triangle and using a fork, press small indentations into each side to ensure the cheese does not ooze out during the cooking process. Place bourekas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat you have either run out of puff pastry dough or filling. 

In a small bowl, beat the second egg for an egg wash. Using a basting brush, coat the top of each boureka with the egg wash. Sprinkle white sesame seeds and/or nigella seeds on top of each boureka. Place it in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes. The top of bourekas should be a nice golden brown when done. (Your instinct may be to try one immediately out of the oven because they smell so good but let cool a few minutes, so you don’t burn your mouth!)

Note: To make these in advance, you can fill the puff pastry with the cheese mixture and freeze them. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer, follow the directions from the previous paragraph and serve.

Dr. Chad Walding enjoys a creamy Greek yogurt parfait with honey, fresh fruit and granola to celebrate Shavuot. “This dish is simple and uplifting: sweet, tangy, and crunchy all at once,” Walding, Chief Culture Officer and co-founder at NativePath, told The Journal. “Each layer of the parfait works together: Greek yogurt is thick and creamy, and the tartness of the yogurt really complements the sweet honey as a part of the Shavuot celebration.”

Start with Greek yogurt as the base. It’s a complete protein with a great amino acid makeup. 

Add fresh fruit, whether berries, peaches or mango, for color, nutrition, vitamins and antioxidants. 

Put granola on top to add a crunchy texture that completes the dish; it feels like a treat, but is not overly indulgent.

Alternatives:

For a lower sugar version, use a sugar-free sweetener instead of honey or use a yogurt that is sweetened naturally so the parfait is still sweet and tasty. 

Instead of using granola, use a nut/seed mix to accommodate different tastes and textures. 

Also: To make the parfait ahead of time, prepare single servings in mason jars or small containers.

Walding believes this treat is especially appropriate for Shavuot.

“Dairy symbolizes a time of renewal and abundance,” he said. “And, because of the mix of wholesome and fresh ingredients, this dish embodies the spirit of the holiday: simple, nourishing and full of goodness.”

He added, “This dish is versatile, delicious and health conscious… and it can really [make] Shavuot feel special.”

Shavuot Dairy Recipes: Beyond Cheesecake Read More »

A Taste of History and a Basque Cheesecake

Food /

This past week, I had the rare pleasure of a private tour of the Mach’ne Yehuda Market. The Shuk, as it is affectionately known, is the bustling heart of Jerusalem and it is one of my favorite places in the world. My tour guide is a local historian who is currently involved in curating the new museum at the Sephardic Educational Center. But before we explored the Shuk, she insisted on sharing with me the deeper story of its origins.

She told me about Sir Moses Montefiore, a British financier, banker and philanthropist of Italian Sephardic descent. He was a visionary who transformed Jewish life in Jerusalem by financing Jewish neighborhoods outside the walls of the Old City, starting with the founding of Mishkenot Shah’ananim in 1860.

There are five neighborhoods in Jerusalem named for Montefiore, reflecting his deep commitment to building Jewish life outside the Old City walls. Built at a time when living outside the Old City was a daring act, they include Yemin Moshe, Zichron Moshe and Kiryat Moshe.

Our first stop on the tour was across Agrippas Street in the historic cluster of neighborhoods called Nach’laot. Mazkeret Moshe was built in 1882 for Ashkenazi Jews and Ohel Moshe was built to house Sephardic families. We explored Ohel Moshe, which was built in 1883 at the request of Sir Moses Montefiore, who was still alive at the time. The construction was funded through a charitable trust established in memory of his wife, Lady Judith Montefiore. Interestingly, she was not only a philanthropist’s wife but a culinary pioneer, who authored “The Jewish Manual” in 1846, the first English-language kosher cookbook.

The first homes were simple: one room, with outdoor cooking and communal bathrooms. Residents had to walk to the Old City to shop, storing perishables in cellars between trips. But over time, life improved. Families added rooms and courtyards, and multi-generational households formed tight-knit communities where food and tradition were at the heart of daily life.

Among the most notable residents of Ohel Moshe was Yitzhak Navon, who served as the fifth President of Israel from 1978 to 1983, and was the first Sephardic Jew to hold the office. Born in Jerusalem, Navon’s family history reflects centuries of Sephardic resilience and heritage. His father’s ancestors arrived in Jerusalem from Turkey in 1670 after fleeing the Spanish expulsion of 1492. His mother descended from the Moroccan kabbalist Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, who settled in Jerusalem in 1742. In 1924, when Navon was just three, his family moved from Jaffa Road to Ohel Moshe, where they lived for eight years.

Eventually, Arab vendors saw the opportunity to sell their goods in the growing Jewish neighborhoods outside the Old City. They set up makeshift stalls selling their produce directly to the local residents. Over time, Jewish families joined them as merchants and what started as a small gathering of vendors evolved into a permanent and thriving marketplace: Mach’ane Yehuda.

Today, the shuk covers a vast stretch of Jerusalem. Yes, it draws tourists, but it’s a place where locals—young and old, religious and secular—still come to do their weekly shopping.

After walking through the winding alleys of Nachlaot, we finally entered the market. It was everything I remembered and more: stuffed vegetables steaming in trays, kubbeh soups bubbling in pots, flaky burekas, rustic breads, and rows of sweets. Counters overflowed with olives and pickled vegetables, dried fruits and roasted nuts. Fresh fish, chicken, and meats. 

Mahane Yehuda is far more than a market. It’s a living bridge between past and present—a place where history speaks through food, and where the Sephardic story is still being told, one bite at a time.

—Rachel

In Lady Judith Montefiore’s cookbook there is a recipe for a Sweet Cheese Pudding. The description says that this elegant dessert reflects the refined tastes of Lady Montefiore and the Sephardic love for citrus and dairy. It’s light, fragrant, and perfect served warm or cold. 

Rachel speculated that with its ingredients of ricotta cheese, eggs and sugar, it might have been a precursor to cheesecake.

But this week we present you with a fabulous recipe for a Basque Cheesecake. My daughter Alexandra is home for college and with her infinite patience, she gently beat the cream cheese with castor sugar, then added eggs, heavy cream, kosher salt, vanilla and a tiny bit of lemon zest.

This rustic cheesecake has a burnt top that imparts a delicious caramelized flavor. The interior is smooth, soft and sweet, with a creamy custard flavor. And the bottom, unlike a classic New York cheesecake, is crustless.

To pour over the cheesecake, Alexandra and I made a fruit compote of raspberries, chopped fresh cherries, crushed cardamom, lemon zest and lemon juice with sugar.

It’s truly the perfect dessert for Shavuot or anytime!

—Sharon 

Basque Cheesecake Recipe 

4 8 oz packs cream cheese 

1 cup castor sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream 

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest 

1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425

Press two slightly overlapping pieces of scrunched parchment paper into a 10’ springform pan. 

Beat the cream cheese on medium speed for three minutes. Reduce speed to low, add the sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the flour. Then slowly pour in the cream, salt, vanilla and lemon zest. 

Pour the batter into the pan and bang pan on the counter. Pop any bubbles with a knife.

Bake in the center of the oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until top is a deep golden.

Cool on the countertop for two hours, then refrigerate for 8 hours before serving. 

Serve with a Raspberry Cherry Cardamom Compote.

Raspberry Cherry Cardamom Compote

8 oz fresh raspberries

1 cup cherries, chopped and pitted 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 lemon juiced

Zest of 1/2 lemon

4 cardamom pods, finely crushed or 1 teaspoon powdered cardamom

Pinch of salt

In a small saucepan, boil all the ingredients over low heat until fruit has softened and the liquid has thickened. 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. Website sephardicspicegirls.com/full-recipes.

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A Special Bread for Shavuot

Food /

As a little girl, it always felt like I was the only Iraqi-Israeli girl in the world. It wasn’t that I was lonely—I had my family and my friends, but there just wasn’t anybody like me. Even the Jewish girls at Vaucluse Public School were Ashkenazi and Australian-born. My family had different customs and traditions, we ate different foods (bamia, brown eggs and baba tamar) and we spoke Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew in a country where it was considered rude not to speak English all the time and where there was no separation of religion and state. Sydney, Australia felt as far away from Iraq and Israel as the Earth is from Mars.

When I traveled to Israel, I met my first cousins from my father’s side of the family and it was a life changing experience. The fun and the camaraderie and the instant familiarity was a true gift. There was an immense comfort in knowing that there were kids my age who understood everything about me.

I felt that same feeling of familiarity this week, when I was baking with our good friend Mickey Kahtan. Her father knew my grandfather Aba Naji in Iraq. She and her family are longstanding members of Kahal Joseph where my brother is the rabbi, and are generous supporters of the Sephardic Educational Center. Mickey is a fabulous baker, who grew up learning to bake from her grandmother and mother. Every week, she lovingly bakes soft, fresh, chewy challah, delicious desserts and scrumptious cakes, including an orange cake that my family particularly loves. She bakes all classics of the Iraqi Jewish kitchen, including a perfectly flaky, crispy sweet baklava, a deliciously cheesy sambusak and the best baba tamar, crispy date-filled cookies. The best part is that you can pre-order any of her delicacies through her Instagram account @mickeybakes.

With Rachel is away in Israel, I reached out to Mickey for her help in baking a special, rather unusual bread for Shavuot. “Los Siete Cielos,” The Seven Heavens is a bread that was featured in the cuisine of the Ladino-speaking communities of the Mediterranean to commemorate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai on Shavuot. The bread is a mystical representation that features a central mound of braided dough (Mount Sinai) surrounded by seven strands of challah (the Heavenly clouds). It is decorated with Jacob’s Ladder, a bird, a fish, a hand and the two tablets.

It’s just beautiful and sure to be a conversation starter on your holiday table.

—Sharon

Shavuot is a very special celebration for my family. We all gather for lunch, which ends up lasting all day. My grandmother always made ka’hi, a traditional Iraqi puff pastry dessert that was served with kh’eimar, a special thick buffalo cream. We still make ka’hi and the table is filled with an array of dairy delicacies. The table is adorned with lots of fresh flowers and all the girls make their own fresh flower crowns. It’s all about spending family time together and creating special memories.

As I grow older, I find myself pouring more emotion and intention into everything I bake. Each recipe becomes more than just a set of instructions—it’s a reflection of memories, love, and purpose. A special connection to how much I loved baking with my Safta (grandmother). I’ve come to appreciate that every ingredient has meaning, each one playing a role not just in flavor, but in the story behind the dish. Baking has become a way for me to connect and share with my family and with others.

Baking bread is a special passion of mine. I take the time to knead the dough to a beautiful soft stretch. I weigh the dough into even size balls. I roll the dough using the bottoms of my fingers and the tops of my palms, making sure to start out in the middle and to roll out, again and again. I make sure not to let my shaped challah rise too long, because then it will lose its shape (and the symbols we baked for this Shavuot bread are so cute). I like to bake my challah at 380°F so that my challah has a dark, crispy exterior and a soft, fluffy interior.

—Mickey Kahtan

Seven Heaven Bread

2  1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

8 cups bread flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

¼ cup honey

3/8 cup avocado oil

1 egg, divided, for egg wash 

Preheat oven to 380°F.

Combine the yeast, water, and tablespoon of sugar in a bowl, then cover with a towel and set aside to proof for 10 minutes.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the warm milk, eggs, honey and oil, then add the proofed yeast and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a working surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed.

Return the dough to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Set aside to rise for 2 hours in a warm spot.

Bread assembly:

Take a quarter of the dough and set it aside. Divide the remaining dough into two parts. Set aside one of the dough balls along with the other quarter of the dough and cover both with a towel.

Divide the piece of dough you are working with into four even pieces. Roll each into a strand and lay them in a tic tac toe pattern, over and under. Braid the strands by laying each strand over the other in one direction, then going in the other direction. Repeat until you have a round coil. Then place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Take the large piece of dough and separate it into seven strands, rolling each one longer than the next. Start by rolling the smallest strand around the mountain and continue until all seven strands wrap the round challah.

Form the remaining piece of dough into symbols to place on top of the challah, including the Ten Commandments, a Hamsa, a fish, a bird and Jacob’s ladder. Decorate with sesame seeds.

Beat the yolk in a bowl and use a pastry brush to egg wash all the symbols. Add the egg white to the remaining yolk and beat. Brush all over the challah.

Bake for approximately 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

– Sharon

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. Website sephardicspicegirls.com/full-recipes.

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Table for Five: Bamidbar

Judaism, Torah /

One verse, five voices. Edited by Nina Litvak and Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist

God spoke to Moses and Aaron saying: The children of Israel shall encamp each man by his division with the flag staffs of their fathers’ house; some distance from the Tent of Meeting they shall encamp. 

– Num. 2:1-2

Rebbetzin Miriam Yerushalmi

CEO S.A.N.E.; Author, “The Temple Within”

Despite their distinct strengths, Moshe and Aaron worked together in unity. The brothers served Hashem with their unique wisdom and soul powers: Moshe personified emes, emphasizing truth even though it might disrupt the peace, while Aaron was the model oheiv shalom, rodef shalom, loving and pursuing peace even if that meant bending the truth to achieve it. 

King David says (Psalms 133: 1-2), “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, that runs down on the edge of his garments.”

Oil represents wisdom; the beard, growing from the face toward the body, represents the connection between thoughts and actions; “midosov, his garments,” can also mean “his character traits,” i.e., garments of the soul. Chabad commentators learn from the words “the edge (“pi,” literally, the mouth) of his garments” that the oil was drawn miraculously upwards, toward Aharon’s mouth. This was a sign to both brothers, who worried that they had somehow defiled the oil — misused their wisdom — that actually they had elevated it, to G-d’s pleasure. 

At some point, brothers must assert their independence, only flying “the flag of their fathers’ house” as each encamps individually “by his division,” surrounding but at a distance from the communal Tent — yet they are still united as “the children of Israel.” 

From Moshe and Aaron, each of us children of Israel can learn to apply our unique wisdom in the service of Hashem.

Rabbi Eliot Malomet

Host of “Parasha Talk” on YouTube

Around the time of my bar mitzvah, I wrote away for a set of Israeli stamps to start a stamp collection. The Israel Philatelic Service sent me a set of definitive stamps called “The Tribes of Israel.” Those stamps, designed by Hungarian Holocaust survivor Georg Hamori, were in circulation from the late ’50s through the mid-’60s. Simple, elegant, beautiful, they were tiny pieces of art. Each ancient Israelite tribal flag stamp had the distinctive color and emblem of its tribe, stylized by Hamori’s proud and resilient midcentury hand.

Philately is the love of stamps. Vexillology is the study of flags. Put the two together and you get “vexillately” — the joy of collecting of stamps depicting flags. In 1976, the USPS issued an innovative, yet unimaginative, single-pane of the 50 state flags to commemorate the Bicentennial. Canada followed suit in 1979, with its own unimaginative, yet history making single-pane of the 12 provincial and territorial flags. In contrast, Israel’s mid-century vexillately was something else! It was imaginative, informative and inspirational. It was, you might say, Torah study on a stamp! Each stamp’s unique “tab” contained a fragment of a biblical verse, for example, from Jacob’s blessing. Each stamp’s color matched the imagined color of the tribe’s gemstone on the High Priest’s breast-plate, following the Midrash. Thus, when you received midcentury mail from Israel, you got more than mail. You got a miniscule portal into the world of Torah study. One might call that Torah vexillately. I call it joy.

Rabbi Elliot Dorff

American Jewish University

The Torah here describes “the Children of Israel” as one community but divided into subgroups, not only of their tribes, but even of their families, each with its distinctive flag. This should be a model for us in our time, both as Americans and as Jews.  

“E pluribus unum,” a Latin phrase meaning “out of many, one,” is the motto of the United States, symbolizing the nation’s formation from the union of the original 13 colonies. The phrase appears on the Great Seal of the United States and appears on U.S. coins and currency.  Especially in these turbulent times, with deep political divisions among us, we Americans must recommit ourselves to being a united nation.

We Jews must also learn from this verse that while all the many varieties of Jews may and should cherish their unique identities and customs, we must also stand together as a Jewish People. Differences over politics or Jewish law must not undermine our inherent unity as Jews. On the contrary, now more than ever we must emulate God who, according to our evening liturgy, “loves His People Israel.”  We certainly may argue with each other in good Jewish tradition, but that must never stop us from loving each other as Jews, with all the commitments to all the members of our People that that love requires of us.

Nina Litvak

Screenwriter, Co-creator of accidentaltalmudist.org

With antisemitism on the rise, once again it’s popular to blame “the Jews” for all the problems in the world. Our haters speak about “the Jews” as a monolith, revealing how little they understand us. From the beginning, the Children of Israel were divided into 12 tribes, each with its own character, banner, land (except the Levites, who had their own holy destiny) and precious stone in the High Priest’s breastplate. Today we are the most diverse of all nations, spanning the globe and encompassing a multitude of ethnicities, nationalities, languages and ways of being Jewish. During our 40 years in the desert, each tribe had its own encampment with an identifying flag. The Levites were placed around the holy Tabernacle. Divided by tribes, unified by covenant with God.

The tribes were 2,000 cubits apart (about a mile). Rashi explains that “the reason for this distance, which was that of a Sabbath’s day journey, was that they might be able to come unto the vicinity of the Tabernacle for instruction on Sabbath, for Moses, Aaron and his sons and the Levites were encamped quite close to it.” Each tribe dwelled separately from the other tribes, yet they weren’t so far that they couldn’t celebrate Shabbat and learn Torah together. In the words of Hebrew writer Ahad Ha’am, “More than the Jewish people kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept the Jewish people.” Division into tribes protects individuality, but we come together once every week and that unity is our superpower. 

Rabbi Nicole Guzik

Co-Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple

While the Jewish people make up 0.2% of the global population, within that percentage is a diverse, multiheritage, varied group. The jokes about Jewish disagreements abound: Two Jews, three opinions. Another famous one: There is one Jew on an island and two synagogues —  The one he attends and the one he won’t set foot in. The Torah teaches that from the moment of receiving the Torah, our conception as a Jewish people is marked by division. This tribe goes with this flag, this tribe with another and so on. However, division does not necessarily mean disunity.

The Shnei Luchot HaBerit, a 17th-century mystical work cites Isaac Luria’s commentary on this verse. Luria explains that the flags in the camps are similar to what he sees in his own time. The Arizal explains, “Jewish people are made up of four ‘classes,’ each one observing their own respective customs.” Luria was referring to the Sephardim, Ashkenazim, Catalonians, and Italians. He comments, “Each group remains loyal to the customs handed down by its ancestors, and each set of customs is valued equally in the eyes of God.”

Whether it is on Pico Blvd or Broadway — peek into any shul and you will see a myriad of Jewish customs. While we may eat different food on Shabbat and holidays, the essence and values we uphold are the same. In God’s eyes, we add beauty and depth through our diversity. 

Perhaps one day, we will follow God’s example and see holy merit in our differences.

Table for Five: Bamidbar Read More »