Some powerful stories from Friday’s terrorist attack

A group of friends from life and army service planned to gather at a nightclub Friday night to have a surprise celebration in honor of another friend’s 30th birthday. Unfortunately, the surprise was on them, for all four of the people murdered were connected to the party. Read a moving account of the events and [...]

Radio from Israel

Often I listen to music while I type. Usually I play a mix of music stored in iTunes. However, this morning I am listening to live streaming of All for Peace Radio, an Israeli radio station which broadcasts in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
All for Peace Radio works for coexistence and understanding. Amongst [...]

Flying Kites for Peace

I learned today (thanks World Changing) who got it from Gily that there is an effort to fly kites along both sides of the security barrier on April 27, 2005. Here is what World Changing posted,
Ally Gil Friend points us at 10,000 Kites, an activist art initiative to fly 10,000 kites along both [...]

Weekly Torah Commentary - Ki Tisa

Hello. This week’s Torah portion is Ki Tisa, a text which includes the infamous story of the golden calf followed chapters later by the second giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Much has been written about this text in modern day and throughout the ancient and mideival commentaries. Rather than posting one commentary [...]

Cabinet vote results

Pullout from Gaza was a vote of 17-5 for pullout. You can read all details on YNet.
The vote for the re-routing of the fence was 20-1 as reported by YNet in ENGLISH, yes YNet has launced its English site - hooray! (Hat tip to Allison.)
May these be steps toward real peace and security.

Good News Morning from Israel

Boker tov (good morning or a good day at whatever time you read this.)
This morning began (as all do) with a quick read of the news over the internet. I am filled with (slightly cautious) hope this morning reading Ha’aretz, one of Israel’s dailies. Peace seems to again be building:
Home demolitions for Palestinians [...]

Weekly Torah Commentary - Tetzaveh

This week’s parashah is Tetzaveh and opens with the instruction to create an ever-burning light in the Tent of Meeting. This becomes the ner tamid, the eternal light.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson of the University of Judaism has written a powerful commentary on this symbol and its connection to Torah and Judaism in our [...]

B’nai Mitzvah Students

One of the things which I enjoy about the rabbinate is the opportunity to teach people at all ages and at various levels of knowledge.
This past shabbat a young person who I have been teaching (as rabbi of the congregation and sometimes his classroom teacher as well) since he was 6 years old [...]

Weekly Torah Commentary - Terumah

This week’s Torah portion is Termuah. One of the elements of Termuah is a detailing of the instructions for the construction of the Tent of Meeting or Tabernacle in the desert. Of course, one of the elements of construction is the need for materials and supplies.
To get these supplies/materials/tools G-d says in Exodus [...]

More on the Sharm-El-Sheik Peace Conference

Many in the blog world, especially the Israeli blog world have written about the peace talks and the hopeful caution that we feel. I guess the caution comes from having high hopes dashed before by violence and hate.
Here are some posts by other bloggers:
Renatina writes about Tikva v’safek (hope and doubt).
Andrew Jaffe writes on his [...]

Hope for Peace

Today’s meeting between Abbas and Sharon in Sharm-el-Sheik gives me hope that the beginnings of peace may again be on the horizon.
May G-d help all leaders focus on peace and justice rather than on personal agenda, ego and money.
May peace spread throughout the land.
(If you are looking for some information on today’s meeting, try the [...]

Bush’s Envoy Honors Man Who Accusses Jews of Inflating the Holocaust

Shavuah tov. Sadly, we are starting the news week with a disturbing item of political news. Last week President Bush sent Myron Kuropas to fly to Ukraine with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of the American delegation to the Ukrainian Presidental Inauguration. Mr. Kuropas is a holocaust deniar, who wrote that [...]

Israeli Technology & the Super Bowl

Allison Kaplan Sommer has posted about the Israeli technology which is making possible the broadcast of this year’s Super Bowl. Israel 21c details the communication technology developed by MobileAccess Networks which is the provider of communication tech for Alltel Stadium. Whoever wins, (I don’t have a particular preference), Israel is winning too! Hooray.

Weekly Torah Portion - Parashat Mishpatim

This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, a continuation of the statement of laws for the Jewish community. Can we be inspired by these laws? Even by the first letter of the first word? Read this commentary by Rabbi Ben Hollander.
Let’s look at that first letter, the “vav”—usually translated as the conjunction “and”. I remember an [...]