In my recent visit in Israel I met a man who has studied and researched for years the sounds that birds use to communicate… I asked him if the birds have any sound which expresses the idea of the ‘creator’ or ‘God’ of nature. He replied: Nothing of that sort! Their languages are very practical, […]
Modeling the Jewish Learning and Humanity of Our Late Teacher Rabbi Michael A. Signer.
Fasting On Yom Kippur
About one third of the of the 562,000 Americans who will die this year from various types of cancer, will die due to their own behavior. Smoking, over eating and drinking, and physical inactivity will do them in. The same set of self indulgences will also afflict those who die from heart disease this year. […]
The Philosophy of Hebrew
Every language has a genius and soul of its own. Each language has several key words that have many different meanings and connotations. This is especially true for a very ancient language like Hebrew, which has been used continuously, especially for religious thought, for over 3.500 years. The Hebrew word lev literally means heart. In […]
Hassidic-Progressive (Reform) Teachings for Poland Today
The Gerer Rebbe, Isaac Meir of Bunam (d.1866), said: When Ruth came to Judea she was told that she would not be admitted as a convert because she was a Moabite (Deut 23:4) but she persisted even though the Jewish community did not accept her. Eventually the leaders of that time reinterpreted the Torah’s prohibition […]
Shabbat at Beit Warszawa, August 2014
Being busy on Shabbat: “Six days thou shalt work, and on the Seventh day…” you shall be busy! Busy indeed are the people who attend Shabbat program at ‘Beit Warszawa’ in Warsaw. They begin 9:30-10:30 with a study session of Talmud, led by Rabbi Nativ using Hebrew, Aramaic, English, and Polish alternatively. The morning service, […]
Beit Warszawa and its Jews
In an American or Canadian Reform Synagogue today, about 10-15% of the younger generation of members were not born or raised as Jews. Almost half of this small minority were formally converted to Judaism by a Reform or Conservative Rabbi (Geray Tsedek). Another third of these people have informally become Jewish by living Jewishly, and […]