As I sit down to write my final Bulletin message as the TBS President, I find myself reflecting on my Jewish identity, particularly as May unfolds as Jewish American Heritage Month. In the spirit of self-reflection, Jewish American Heritage Month prompts us to consider what aspect of our Jewish identity fills us with the most pride. (more…)
For over half a century, Israeli folkdance has been an important part of my life. I chose where to go to college and where I would live based on areas that had active Israeli dance groups. I met my husband at an Israeli dancing session at MIT, and I used nearly all of my 40 years of vacation days to attend Israeli dance events. Israeli dancing is my oxygen – it helps me relieve stress and clear my mind and cope better with those difficult things that go on in our lives. (more…)
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The article below written by Edward H. Kaplan and Evan Morris originally appeared March 29, 2024 on newsweek.com (https://www.newsweek.com/what-we-learned-our-academic-visit-israel-opinion-1885030). Reproduced with permission for Israel Matters
We represent a group of 25 Yale faculty who have just returned from a five-day visit to Israel. Our mission was to learn from and make meaningful academic connections with our Israeli counterparts. Much of what we learned and observed astounded us. (more…)
First, a happy and gratified thank you, to all who worked so hard on our “40 Years in the Desserts” celebration.
What a great night it was because of all the hard work of Steve Schulefand and his legendary singers and Lauren Piscitille and her hard-working committee. (more…)
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us on March 30, 2024 in honoring Rabbi Scolnic for his remarkable 40 years of service, dedication, and love for our congregation and community. It was a joyous occasion filled with warmth, laughter, and cherished memories. Here is an excerpt of my welcome message: (more…)
By Michael Rubiner March 25, 2013
On Monday night at sundown, Jews everywhere will begin celebrating the first night of Passover. Before they can eat their unleavened meal, though, they’ll have to complete the Seder, a religious service conducted on the first and sometimes second nights of the eight-day holiday that can often seem interminable. In 2006, Michael Rubiner drafted a plan for a shorter, sweeter Seder. His proposal is printed below. (more…)
The Committee on Jewish Law & Standards (CJLS) Kashrut Subcommittee2
Introduction by Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, Chair, CJLS
Stories play a key role in identifying a religion or nation, especially the ones at the center of a community’s history and ritual, the ones taught to members of the community from an early age and repeated often by adults in rituals and prayers. Such master stories express in easily understandable and emotionally compelling terms a community’s understanding of its origins, its values, and its goals. If one were to compare the view of life and humanity embedded in the master stories of, for example, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism – and the United States, China, and Israel – one would find deep differences in how these various human communities understand who they are as individuals and as a community, what is important in life, and what they should strive for. Judaism’s master story is the Exodus from Egypt, followed by the trek to Mount Sinai and then to the Promised Land of Israel. We leave Egypt not as individuals but as a nation, and we do so only with the help of God. This is very different from the staunch individualism at the heart of the liberalism that has forged most Western countries. At Mount Sinai we engage in a Covenant with God that establishes the basis of our relationship with God – and the duties of that relationship or ourselves and all our descendants. (more…)
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(David Margolis, Guest Columnist)
I was a guest contributor for this column last July where I shared my “Reflections on a First Tour of Israel” following TBS’ May 2023 Israel Trip. I ended that column with: “On the flight back to the States I knew two things to be true – that I would return to Israel as often as possible, and if I no longer felt safe as a Jew in America I would be welcomed and protected in Israel. Like Home.” (more…)