Judaism

Rabbi Yehonatan Adouar teaches a shofar blowing course in Rambam Synagogue in Ramat Gan, Israel

Wanted in Israel: More Shofar Blowers For Socially Distanced Jewish New Year

12:57pm September 18, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

The shofar is a hallmark of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. The pandemic means there will be more and smaller prayer gatherings this year, so some cities have offered free shofar-blowing courses.

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On April 3, Iraqi volunteers in full hazmat gear prayed over the coffin of a 50-year-old who died of COVID-19. She was buried at a cemetery specifically opened for such deaths, some 12 miles from the holy city of Najaf.

Coronavirus Is Changing The Rituals Of Death For Many Religions

5:21pm April 07, 2020

The virus is upending burial traditions across cultures, from the washing of the body of a loved one in Iraq to the gathering of mourners in Israel.

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Orthodox Jewish women are increasingly joining a custom called Daf Yomi, Hebrew for "daily page," which involves reading a page a day of the Talmud, a centuries-old, multivolume collection of rabbinic teachings, debates and interpretations of Judaism. Her

Orthodox Jewish Women Take A New Lead In Talmud Study In Israel

9:42am February 02, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

"I never thought I would live to see this day," said one of the women participating in a recent celebration in Jerusalem.

Daniel Ortner converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 10 years ago.

Religion

I'm Converting: How One Man's Missionary Trip Reconnected Him To His Family's Past

8:46am August 25, 2019

by Sophia Alvarez Boyd

Daniel Ortner grew up Jewish, but when tragedy struck his family, he abandoned faith altogether. When he found God again, this time as a Mormon, a missionary trip helped him reconnect with his roots.

Jane Kemp and her son, Kieran, celebrate their first Hanukkah together.

I'm Converting: One Mother's Unexpected Path To Judaism

8:41am April 27, 2019

by Sophia Alvarez Boyd

Jane Kemp grew up in a non-denominational Protestant church, but when she learned her adopted son had Jewish ancestry, it set her on a path to conversion she never could have imagined.

The Great Synagogue in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, was built in the 17th century. Vilnius served as a center of Jewish life in Eastern Europe before World War II.

Excavation Of Lithuania's Great Synagogue Highlights A 'Painful Page' From History

3:55pm October 16, 2018

by Lucian Kim

The synagogue is "very important," says an archaeologist, "not only for Jews but all people living in Lithuania." Just 3,000 Jews are left in the capital, compared to some 70,000 before World War II.

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A leader of the Lemba people, wearing a prayer shawl, gathers with his fellow Jews. DNA tests have confirmed the Semitic heritage of these sub-Saharan Africans.

The Lemba Jews Of Zimbabwe Are Having A Hopeful New Year

7:00am October 09, 2016

by Katya Cengel

DNA has proven that these sub-Saharan Africans have Semitic origins. But what does it mean to be a black Jew in Zimbabwe?

Rabbi Daniel Rockoff of Orthodox Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner estimates there about 250 Sabbath-observant families in Johnson County, Kan.

Politics & Government

When A Saturday Caucus Means No Voting For Orthodox Jews

3:17pm March 04, 2016

by Elle Moxley

A community of observant Jews in Kansas got Republicans to change their Saturday caucus rules, but Democrats haven't changed theirs yet.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays along the Mediterranean Sea in the Israeli city of Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.

In Israel, A New Battle Over Who Qualifies As Jewish

3:42pm October 13, 2015

by Emily Harris

Government rabbis decide who is officially Jewish, which affects issues including marriage and divorce. But religious and political rivals have started their own system for conversion.

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Rabbis Diversify To Connect To Students; Just Don't Bring Up Israel

10:46pm May 19, 2015

by Monique Parsons

As the number of religious young people declines, Hillel International is trying to build a "big tent" Judaism for secular and religious students alike. But some say that tent may not be big enough.

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