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Judaism

Rabbi David Rosen: Building Global Interfaith Communities

Rabbi David Rosen: Building Global Interfaith Communities

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Tension can be at a rolling boil during interfaith encounters, but Rabbi David Rosen, a modern Orthodox Rabbi, born and educated in England, who lives with his family in Israel, has never been intimidated by the heat.

If There is No Bread, There is No Torah

If There is No Bread, There is No Torah

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

In the adage “If there is no bread, there is no Torah,” Judaism recognizes that one needs to feed the body before you can feed the soul, because deep learning cannot occur on an empty stomach. The Jewish tradition also recognizes the power of food to enhance the body’s availability to be spiritually nourished.

Religious Pluralism is God's Will

Religious Pluralism is God's Will

by Rabbi Allen S. Maller

Most college students have at one time or another asked, ‘If there is only one God why are there so many religions?’ This is a good question that I as a Rabbi have often been asked.This is my answer. The Qur’an declares that Allah could have made all of us monotheists, a single religious community, but didn’t in order to test our commitment to the religion that each of us have been given by God.

A Report from The Tabernacle Experience

A Report from The Tabernacle Experience

by Jonathan Homrighausen

I stood in front of the Ark of the Covenant, holding my incense while I gazed on the golden wings of the cherubim. No, I am not starring in a remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was inside The Tabernacle Experience, an interactive re-enactment of the Tabernacle which the Israelites built in the desert on their journey from Egypt to Canaan.

Excerpts from Interfaith Leadership: A Primer

Excerpts from Interfaith Leadership: A Primer
Below are excerpts from the opening and closing of the Introduction to Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, a new book from Eboo Patel being published by Beacon Press this August. Copyright by Eboo Patel.

Review: How’s Your Faith? by David Gregory

I don’t watch Meet the Press or television journalism, so I didn’t recognize David Gregory’s name when his memoir appeared on my desk. The title, however, caught my attention. How’s Your Faith? – An Unlikely Spiritual Journey is a courageous testimony by an adult child of intermarriage, whose own interfaith marriage sparks his spiritual journey. Raised with a Jewish identity, he marries a devout Christian only to realize that his relationship with religion, and ultimately, with himself, needs attention.

In the Face of Proselytizing

Messianic Judaism is a Biblically based movement of Jews who believe in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah of Israel. According to web statistics, from 2003 to 2007, the number of Messianic houses of worship in the United States grew from 150 to as many as 438, with over 100 in Israel and more worldwide. As of 2012, population estimates for the United States were between 175,000 and 250,000 members, for Israel, between 10,000 and 20,000 members, and an estimated total worldwide membership of 350,000.

The Jewish Command to Pursue Justice is the Jewish Obligation to Act on Climate Change

My Jewish values tell me that I must pursue justice, of course, but they also tell me so much more. In Deuteronomy 16:18 we read “Justice, justice, you shall pursue.” As a Jew, I am not only commanded to fight for justice, but for “justice, justice.” Jews are given a double commandment – an un-stuttering repetition in our text that tells us that justice alone is not enough.

A Jewish-Muslim Convergence of Sacred Seasons

In 2015, the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (September 16- 21) almost precisely overlaps with the period of the Hajj (September 20 – 25), which culminates in Eid al-Adha on the day after Yom Kippur. A public program at the GTU on Sunday, September 20 will explore many of the shared themes of this season, including repentance, pilgrimage, and sacrifice.

The Jewish Imperative for Peacemaking

The Jewish Imperative for Peacemaking
The Rabbis of the Talmud observed that most legislation in the Torah is case law. If we find a lost object, we are to return it to its owner. If we own property, we must take precautions to ensure the safety of those who enter it. If we see our enemy’s animal struggling under its load, we are to help him. When Shabbat (Sabbath) or a holy day comes, we are to observe it.

The Middle East & the West – Building Bridges through the Arts

“Art is the conversation … Art offers an opening for the heart ... Art is, at least, the knowledge of where we are standing … In this Wonderland … we are partners straddling the universe.’”

Drop by Drop, until the Cup is Full

My friend Jeremy Sher is a brilliant up-and-coming leader of the Reform rabbinical movement. He is working to create a vision of Judaism that is both inclusive and yet deeply spiritually fulfilling, a Judaism which rejects gender discrimination and insularity while embracing and upholding the primacy of the holy texts in Jewish life. Jeremy lives in Jaffa, the mostly Arab city that abuts Tel Aviv, genially going about the daily business of preparing for ordination, learning Hebrew, and completing a research fellowship while saying “shukran” (“thank you”) to his Arab neighbors and “toda” (“thank you”) to his Jewish neighbors. Jeremy is what it looks like when you have a smart, compassionate, religiously Jewish man who rejects parochial attitudes in favor of an open-minded and open-hearted commitment to tikkun olam, healing the world. You could probably say he’s my religious role model.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2014

Never Again

Who Says the “Partly Jewish” Are Bad For The Jews?

The Benefits of Two Traditions

Rachel Bregman, Reformed Judaism

Young People Share Thoughts for World Religious Leaders

Grassroots Activists with a Global Outreach

From Danville to the Amazon

Three LGBT Jews Share Their Journeys

How It Gets Better

Listening and Achieving the Impossible Dream

Can Jews and Muslims actually get along? For the average American, plagued by widespread misinformation and skewed biases from the media, this might seem nearly impossible. In light of the ubiquitous news of conflict in the Middle East, coexistence between these two faith traditions is often perceived as a lost cause. However, here in the Southern California an number of Jewish and Muslim communities are working in harmony towards peace and understanding.

Interfaith Relations: Do the Math!

Albert and Tony were best friends who grew up in each other’s homes. Albert’s Jewish mother sent him off to school each day with the question, “Albert, do you have your books?” Tony’s Italian mother sent him off to school each morning with the query, “Tony, do you have your lunch?”

Interfaith Peacemaking on the Documentary Screen

Encounter Point and Budrus, two films produced in Israel by Just Vision’s resourceful executive director, Ronit Avni, exemplify what documentary film does at its best: raise public consciousness and inspire people to change.