Judaism

Torah

Blessing the People With Love and Joy

Local

Does Birthright Stifle Teen Travel?

Shavuot

Synagogues Celebrate New Arrivals

Shavuot

Learning to Speak the Captor's Language

By:

Elie Kaunfer

Revelation is often considered the most intimate moment between God and the Jewish people. It is compared to a wedding, the culmination of a love affair, albeit a complicated one. But what if revelation were not a model for exclusive attachment but a narrative of universal relevance? How might that change our understanding of law-giving on Mount Sinai? Two midrashim...

Torah

Torah a Bellwether for Economic Equality

BEHAR, Leviticus 25:1-27:34

By:

Rabbi Adam Zeff

This week's Torah reading has a special Philadelphia connection. It contains the words inscribed on the Liberty Bell: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10). The Liberty Bell was originally created to mark the 50th anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, and it later became associated with the Declaration of Independence and,...

Tradition

Religious Life

By:

Fredda Sacharow

I f you were a Jew in Philadelphia during the latter half of the 19th century, one of an estimated 12,000 members of the tribe, your synagogue of choice was either a Reform or an Orthodox congregation. The Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, the independent minyanim, the popularity of the do-it-yourself brand of chavurot — all remained in the near or...

Judaism

Rabbi Simeon J. Malin

By:

Fredda Sacharow

Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin In 1980, when Simeon J. Maslin became senior rabbi at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, it was all about the suburbs. “All suburban congregations were thriving. We had Confirmation classes of 70 or 80 kids — it was the culmination of the suburban migration. I got in on the tail end of this great...

Judaism

Rabbi Albert E. Gabbai

By:

Fredda Sacharow

Rabbi Albert E. Gabbai Few rabbis lead congregations that rank as “must-see” stops on tourists’ agendas. Fewer still can count Benjamin Franklin among the contributors to their synagogue’s original building fund. For Rabbi Albert E. Gabbai, serving as spiritual leader of Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States and the oldest formal congregation in Philadelphia,...