With the community-driven Translations effort leading to availability in dozens of languages, Facebook has already done a phenomenal job at ensuring that their popular social network continues its viral-like spread across the globe. Today Facebook’s map is expanding even more by making the sit...

In 2009 the Hebrew festival of Purim falls on March 10.  Literally translated Purim means "lots" as in lottery and is a reference to a selection process of sacrifice used by the evil Persian ruler Haman, who ruled by the grace of the Persian king known as Xerxes I, to... read more...

With all the bad new lately for my alma mater Yeshiva University, it was nice to see the positive news that the school is ranked by US News the 9th most popular in the nation, ahead of (other) highly esteemed institutions like Brown and Columbia. The bigger story in this list is that the Mormon scho...

Word:  ”… we find encouragement because we have run to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have is an anchor for the soul, strong and secure.” (Hebrews 6:18-19a) Wonder:  The image of an anchor came to Paul’s mind when he thought of what hope did for him and w...

NEW YORK (JTA) — Rabbi Avi Weiss, the founder of the liberal rabbinical school Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, will host a ceremony later this month for Sara Hurwitz, who currently holds the title “madricha ruchanit,” or spiritual mentor, at Weiss’ synagogue, the Hebrew Institute of...

Ech omrim "jetlag"? Oh yeah....jetleg. I'm back, people, after a crazy week. Didn't have any time to write then and probably won't have any till the weekend. And since I'm going back to Ulpan starting tomorrow morning (yeah, baby!), I thought I'd repost an oldie but goodie entry from a while back wh...

From the Throne of Eliyahu to the Covenant of Avraham Avinu by Tzvee, March 2, 2009, 6th Adar, 5769, Bergenfield, NJ, USA We’ve been honored today to participate in the bris of a new baby, our fifth grandchild, given the name Gavriel Osher Chaim. The bris is a simple ritual service with just a few...

More midrash on the Akeidah, including what Avraham told Sarah about his plans. First, a short one: "v'ha'aleihu sham l'olah 'al achad heharim" - amar l'fanav: 'al eizeh har? "And raise him up there as a burnt offfering upon one [of] the mountains" - he said before him: upon which mountain? amar lo ...

I’ve recently had reason to get aggravated again about the way some modern translations mistreat Ishmael and his kin, specifically in their translations of Genesis 25:18. In the English translation tradition, three renderings of the last clause of Genesis 25:18 compete for translators’ a...

Here’s a recent email that went out from Shalhevet (Modern Orthodox day school in LA): In our relentless pursuit of Excellence in Education, Shalhevet School is pleased to welcome Rabbi Rodney Feinerman as its new Educational Director beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. Working closely w...