Relating to the Language of Chosenness
Last weekend and this coming weekend I am responsible for leading Shabbat morning services at my synagogue, which is dually-affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (JRF). I have written before about how our congregation, being the only one with regular services and a rabbi within a 150-mile radius, is an eclectic blend of folks ranging from pretty traditionally observant to classical Reform, with the majority of regular attenders being … [Read more…]
Open Beta – Let’s Get This Party Started!
Wow it’s already been close to a month since my last post and I’m happy to report that in that time we’ve made a lot of progress regarding the new website design. As I’m sure you can see by the new layout and new features now available here at JewsByChoice.org, we are trying to move in a fresh direction with the revamped site. Basically, we’d like to be a little bit less of a one trick pony then we were in our first incarnation. Since day one hour aim has always been to provide an online … [Read more…]
RabbiPod On The Israeli Conversion Crisis
Last week Rabbi Eli Garfinkel of Temple Beth El (a Conservative Synagogue in Somerset, NJ) recorded an interesting Podcast. In short the good Rabbi shares some of his concerns regarding the recent conversion fiasco in Israel. Here is a brief summary of the episode from the RabbiPod site. In this episode of RabbiPod, I argue that Israel needs to have a law permiting civil marriage, and that the Israeli government should not have the power to decide who and who is not a Jew. That power should … [Read more…]
The Diaspora’s Diaspora, and Earning the Burn: Lessons in the Necessity of Pacing Yourself
Hi All, I originally wrote a pretty acidic post about Jimmy Carter’s recent groping of Hamas founder Khaled Meshaal in Damascus, but given the great job Chavi did in her recent post on being holy, I thought a post on a situation I’ve faced recently was in order. As many of you may be aware, I live along the North Shore of Lake Superior, a location which, though naturally beautiful, in the Jewish universe is roughly equivalent to Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine: “If there’s a bright … [Read more…]
Embracing Our Inner Reverend Wright
This is a post I wrote on True Ancestor, and modified for (what I think is) an interesting zine, the New Vilna Review. Comments welcome, as long as they’re made in the spirit of civil discourse (right, Avi?). … [Read more…]
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