In most of our synagogues, upon conclusion of the public reading of the Torah, the scroll is lifted for all to see, and the congregation recites: "And this is the Torah that Moses placed before the Children of Israel. "
A few weeks ago I welcomed Shabbat in Iquitos, Peru, one of the most isolated cities in the world. Located four degrees south of the Equator and surrounded by nearly impenetrable jungle, Iquitos is accessible only by air or by river — that is, the Amazon.
Shabbat in Bangkok? What business does a partisan of the 613 mitzvot have in a city of 1,000 temptations?
It\’s a busy Friday night in Encino and Avner Sharoni, owner of Tempo restaurant, is running behind — otherwise known as operating on Israeli time.
Six days after the earth\’s creation, God both mandates and hallows the Sabbath day.
There are two different ways of reminding us that Purim is around the corner. One is the PR method, involving newspaper ads, thousands of fliers and large street banners, usually advertising the upcoming Purim carnivals. The other involves no media or marketing but has existed for more than 2000 years. It\’s called Shabbat Zachor (the Sabbath of Remembering).
A half-hour before services were scheduled to begin, the lobby of Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch was packed with eager worshipers, with as many as 1,400 expected.
The Shabbat morning services last Saturday were wonderful.
Reuben Dahan lives just down the block from his nearest synagogue. Yet every Shabbat, for the past seven years, Dahan, an Israeli immigrant who grew up in Petach Tikvah, has gone the extra mile, literally, to worship at a place he calls his spiritual home.
The socialist experiment may have failed and the kibbutz movement may be struggling, but communal living is alive and well at the Westwood Bayit. Part of Jewish life at UCLA since 1974, the Bayit (Hebrew for house) is a cooperative living setup where young men and women commit to participating in Shabbat, kosher group cooking and dining, and Jewish programming.
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