Less well-known, according to a leading Israeli archaeologist, is that the Maccabees also were major builders who transformed the face of Jerusalem and restored the centrality of the Temple in Jewish life.
Indeed, like Dorothy from the \”Wizard of Oz,\” I am a young adult on a quest to find her inner soul and place in life. Dorothy transitions from childhood to adulthood, and travels to Oz only to fathom that everything she wanted was in her home, in her own backyard.
Apart from the 175 member families she served at Anchorage\’s Congregation Beth Sholom, Rabbi Johanna Hershenson found little other Jewish life. As the only non-Orthodox rabbi in Alaska, she became a long-distance consultant to lay synagogue leaders in even more isolated areas, such as Homer and Fairbanks.
Tikkun has, of course, changed since its early magazine years. Its statement of purpose today describes Tikkun as a center for those of all religious and spiritual traditions who seek to integrate spiritual depth with social change. It is no longer in its ambition a voice solely of and for Jews.
Chayim Frenkel, cantor at Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades, conceived \”Nishmat Tzedek\” (\”A Righteous Soul\”) in 1993 after his brother Tzvi, 39, died suddenly, the victim of an undetected blood disease.
\”Intermarriage is a fact of Jewish life and it\’s time we opened our doors and made everyone welcome, not just Jews,\” said Monica Engel, who said that at her own synagogue that interfaith couples felt marginalized because of their ignorance of Jewish practices.
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