Judaism

A Serious Essay about European Jewish Humor

Self-criticism is inherent in a tolerant society that respects the human being as such and reflects on its mistakes and imperfections. Self-criticism is alien to an authoritarian society. Nations that are satisfied with themselves and look to other nations for faults and blame for their failures are stagnant. Jews are dissatisfied, hence they develop. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire

‘Careful Beauties Ahead!’: Laughing at the Pious

Tenenbom also mocks practices that rational thinkers would consider strange. For example, pious men feel that it is wrong to look at a woman lest they be driven to lust, but women can look at men because they are not so distracted. Also, married women cover their hair so that men do not become attracted to them. However, many buy wigs that make them more beautiful than they ever were before they wore them. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

An Israeli-American Perspective: Shabbats in Both My Countries

In Israel, Shabbat is more than just a religious observance; it is a national rhythm that influences the entire country. The word “Shabbat” itself stems from the Hebrew root “shin-bet-tav,” which means to cease or to rest. For Israelis, Shabbat is a time to “sit” and relax, to pause the hectic pace of life and find peace. [Shahar Masori]

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Israel, Jewish Religion, Shahar Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

OpEd: Zelensky Keeps a Distance from His Jewishness and from Israel

The silencing of his Jewishness has characterized his entire tenure as president. Mentioning his Jewishness became taboo. Benjamin Disraeli, a baptized Jew, was Prime Minister of Great Britain and openly discussed Jewish issues and wrote novels with Jewish characters. Léon Blum was Prime Minister of France and spoke freely about his Jewishness. Bruno Kraisky was Chancellor of Austria and made no secret of his Jewishness. Walter Rathenau was Foreign Minister of Germany and spoke proudly of his Jewish ancestry. None of them were ashamed of their Jewishness as Zelensky was. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, International, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Shavuot Wishes and Some Fascinating Upcoming Events

Youth Summer Music Camp (6th-12th grade) with Sharon Katz will be at 1 p.m., Monday, June 17 until Saturday, June 22 (no camp on Wednesday, June 19) at the San Diego Central Public Library. Katz is the founder of The Peace Train Project and Band and will direct this summer camp at the library. [Cailin Acosta]

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Cailin Acosta, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Anne Frank

Courtesy of Wikipedia Anne Frank (June 12, 1929 – February or March 1945) was a German-born Jewish girl who kept a diary in which she documented life in hiding under Nazi persecution during the German occupation of the Netherlands. She is a celebrated diarist who described everyday life from her family’s hiding place in an Amsterdam attic. One of the most-discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust,

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Rabbi Laurence Bazer Named as Director of JWB Jewish Chaplains Council

As a senior ranking Jewish chaplain in the U.S. military, Bazer had a three-decades-long career that included both reserve officer and active-duty stints in both the Army and the National Guard. Most recently, he was the deputy director of the National Guard Bureau Office of the Joint Chaplain and simultaneously served, from 2020 to 2022, as chief of religious affairs for the Army National Guard. [Press Release]

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International, Jewish Religion, Press Release, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Mordecai Kaplan

Courtesy of Wikipedia Mordecai Kaplan (June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983) was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist branch of Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein. He has been described as a “towering figure” in the recent history of Judaism for his influential work in adapting it to modern society, contending that Judaism should be a unifying

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia

Jewish Biography: Boris Pasternak Avoided, Denied, His Jewishness

Pasternak’s feelings about Jews and Jewry in the first 22 years of his life are ̶ negative: humiliation, oppression, pogroms. A different vision of the Jewish problem was revealed to him in Marburg. Pasternak encountered Jewish thinking for the first time in his life: Cohen’s teachings were based on the ethics of Judaism. Plagued by Jewish complexes in Russia, he was apparently shocked by the position of the Jewish thinker and rejected Cohen’s offer to continue his philosophical studies. [Alex Gordon]

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Alex Gordon, Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors