Jewish Religion

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — When I was a counselor at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, the director was Dr. Walter Ackerman, a well-known and formidable educator. He was not the easiest man to approach and the staff was in awe of him. He seemed second only to God in stature and authority. […]

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–Yosef Greenwald* was hired to work as an Information Technology Professional for Bond-Oppenheim Ltd. While working there, Bond-Oppenheim announced that they were eliminating their IT department. They were going to contract with Infosol Ltd. to provide their IT needs. About half of the IT professionals lost their jobs. The rest

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — While the Torah requires capital punishment (i.e., the death penalty) for murder, it was not easily meted out. First, direct testimony by two witnesses was required: “A person shall be put to death only on the testimony of two or more witnesses; he must not be put to

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO — A little girl and her father were crossing a flimsy bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter:”Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don’t fall into the river.” The little girl said, “No, Dad. You hold my hand.”

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO –The last few verses of the traditional Birkat Ha-mazon (Grace after Meals), consisting of verses from the book of Psalms and Jeremiah, are usually sung with a cheerful and uplifting melody. One verse, however, is not sung out loud by some participants. Among the other verses praising God is

By Rabbi Ben Kamin Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — On a just-completed trek to the Yucatan Peninsula and its environs, something was reinforced for me that I had just learned during a Ramadan visit to the central mosque here in San Diego: if we all just calmed down and listened to each other, we’d

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — How many times have you heard a rabbi say, “You should live a Jewish life?” Ad nauseam, I’m sure. Well, doing so is easier than you think! A young man was studying with the chassidim of the Rebbe of Kotzk while his father-in-law supported him. He eventually had

By David Strom David Strom SAN DIEGO — Alvin Rosenfeld, the author/editor of several important books about the Holocaust, has written a book that is thoughtful and challenging to our perceptions of what the Holocaust means. The End of the Holocaust is a critical survey of the vast range of assaults on our collective Holocaust

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — A wise man once wrote: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em Know when to fold ’em Know when to walk away Know when to run.” His sage advice and lyrical advice came to mind this summer. I attended a lecture by a very well respected professor.  He

By Gary Rotto Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO — I really miss my daughter.  She comes home today from her first overnight camp experience – with Camp Mountain Chai.  I have to admit, I didn’t go to overnight camp as a kid – with the exception of a one week basketball camp.  It wasn’t until I