Judaism

Torah

Why Did the People Complain Over Manna?

Newsmakers

West Philly Rabbi Gives Benediction at Prayer Breakfast

Local

Does Birthright Stifle Teen Travel?

Local

Dues for a Change

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

For the leaders of Temple Brith Achim, a 275-family Reform congregation in King of Prussia, scrapping membership dues two years ago in favor of a pay-what-you-wish approach was a bit like stepping off a cliff. But after overhauling how members fund the entire synagogue operation -- in part, by trading the word "dues" for the more altruistic-sounding term "gift" --...

Learning

Improv Duo Takes Torah for a Comic Spin

By:

Bryan Schwartzman

What would happen if two 20-something Jews were asked to entertain hundreds of restless Ramah campers for an hour on a rain-soaked summer day? As it turned out, it was something like midrash meets Monty Python, with a little bit of Mel thrown in -- Brooks, that is. That's how Andrew Davies and Aaron Friedman -- who both spent the...

Torah

Are These Merely Laws, Totally Bereft of Soul?

MISHPATIM, Exodus 21:1-24:18

By:

Rabbi Joshua Runyan

Open a volume of the Code of Federal Regulations or a copy of your local township's ordinances and you'll likely find a dry tabulation of seemingly disconnected laws, bereft of soul and lacking in any semblance of overarching character. At first glance, that appears to be what this week's Torah portion offers: a list of 53 laws dealing with such...

Torah

Chosenness: Doesn't It Imply Superiority?

YITRO, Exodus 18:1-20:23

By:

Rabbi Danielle Stillman

"If you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." God speaks these words through Moses to the people, as they prepare to receive the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai...

Local

Going Out on a Limb

By:

Deborah Hirsch

Yoni Stadlin does more than just talk about honoring trees on Tu B'Shevat -- he devotes vacations to "speak" for them. A month ago, the 33-year-old Bala Cynwyd native flew to Northern California for his fifth stake-out high in the boughs of an ancient Redwood that would have been chopped down years ago if not for the continual presence of...