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Earlier this week, I received a phone call from Niraj Warikoo, the religion editor of the Detroit Free Press. He told me that he was assisting another reporter on a local news story and had a few questions for me. Niraj described the case to me. In 2009, a young girl reported to police that two years earlier when she was 9-years-old she was raped by a 15-year-old male cousin at a sleepover at her home. The boy's pastor was informed of the allegation and he summoned the boy and his mother to... Read Full Story
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It's too bad that the new movie "The Lorax" (an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic tale) won't be released for another month because today is the birthday of the trees! The 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat is known as Tu Bishvat and is the official beginning of the "fiscal year" for harvesting the crops in Israel. In the Torah, there is a series of mitzvot (commandments) relating to crops and produce that applies to harvesting in the land of Israel. While many think of Tu Bishvat as a... Read Full Story
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This year's Super Bowl Sunday will place two major Jewish philanthropists against each other. The New York Giants are co-owned by the Tisch family and the New England Patriots are owned by the Kraft family. Joint Media News Service's Jacob Kamaras provided the "who's who" for both families and which Jewish organizations they all lead. In the Giants' owners' box you have "film and television producer Steve Tisch, son of Bob, as the team’s chairman and executive vice president. Bob’s brother... Read Full Story
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Originally published in the Detroit Jewish News When Sharon Rosen’s mother passed away in July 2009 she had the same eye-opening realization that many survivors do during the week of shivah: The death of a loved one can be a stressful, anxiety-ridden time. Overwhelmed with sadness and the reality of her loss, Rosen experienced planning a funeral and coordination of shivah in her home for the first time. During the shivah period, Rosen felt like she took on the job of logistics director and... Read Full Story
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Published to Governor W. Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney managed to win the Florida primary today despite Newt Gingrich's attempt to convince Florida's Jewish population that Romney forced Holocaust survivors to eat non-kosher food. Gingrich's Robocall emanated from a 2003 veto that Mitt Romney cast while he was governor of Massachusetts for denying $600,000 in additional funds for poor Jewish nursing-home residents to receive kosher meals. Last week, the the New York Post reported that Romney prevented the funding of $5 per day because... Read Full Story
| From : blog.rabbijason.com
Published to Judaism
I've always said that the only times Jewish people mention Jesus are when they stub their toe, miss the bus, or tell you about their theater tickets to a certain Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera. Two new books will change that. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's Kosher Jesus and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (edited by Marc Z. Brettler and Amy-Jill Levine). The former discusses the Jewish life of Jesus of Nazareth and the latter is a newly revised edition of the Christian Scriptures with notes and... Read Full Story
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A version of this appeared on the JTA.org website Bill Gates paid a visit to Steve Jobs toward to the end of the Apple visionary’s life. The two technology giants talked about the future of education. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, both men agreed that computers had made surprisingly little impact on schools. Gates said, “Computers and mobile devices would have to focus on delivering more personalized lessons and providing motivational feedback.” One of the many projects... Read Full Story
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Published to Matthew Broderick
Cross-posted to the Jewish Techs blog at The Jewish Week With today's 10-second tease video with Matthew Broderick hinting at a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" sequel, it is only fitting to take a close look at Ben Stein's ongoing legal battle with Kyocera. Stein, who played the memorable high school teacher in the 1986 movie ("Bueller? Bueller?") was set to film a commercial for Kyocera, the producer of cameras, copiers, printers, mobile phones, and the like. Even though Ben Stein's lawyer... Read Full Story
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Published to Jennifer Aniston
Cross-posted to the Community Next blog Is Drew Barrymore Jewish? The answer is that she currently is not, but she appears to be interested in converting to the Jewish faith. She is engaged to marry Will Kopelman this year. While many non-Jews preparing for conversion to Judaism reach out to rabbis or Jewish friends for guidance, Drew Barrymore has sought out a colleague who has been an Israeli hair stylist, a water boy, a hockey player/golfer, and a surrogate father. Yep, Adam Sandler is... Read Full Story
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In this week's Torah portion called Vaera, the Lord speaks to Moses, saying, “Go and tell Pharaoh King of Egypt to let the Israelites depart from his land.” However, Moses protests. He raises doubts that the people will listen to him. He uses a kal vachomer – the hermeneutical device often used by the rabbis in midrashic literature. Applying the outcome from a minor case to a major case, the formula is "If X, then all the more so Y." Moses says to God, “The Israelites [my own people] would... Read Full Story
