Religion

Study Finds Widespread History of Sexual Abuse Among Formerly Orthodox

by JTA | Jul 18, 2018 | Children, Community, Religion

By Sam Sokol (JTA) — While Jews are no more likely to be sexually abused than other Americans, individuals who have left the Orthodox community are more than four times as likely to have been molested as children than the general population, a new study has...

Gay and African-American Rabbi Wants to Shatter Stereotypes of What a Jew Looks Like

by Josefin Dolsten, JTA | Jul 17, 2018 | Community, LGBT, Religion

NEW YORK (JTA) — As a Jew of color, Rabbi Georgette Kennebrae has had her fair share of experiences that have made her feel less than welcome in the Jewish community. People sometimes assume that she is a member of the synagogue janitorial staff rather than the rabbi....

Need Tefillin? There’s an App for That.

by Cnaan Liphshiz | Jul 15, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, Religion

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — You can call a taxi, order a hamburger, rent a film and buy a book with a few clicks of a smartphone. So why shouldn’t it be as easy to score a set of tefillin? That, at least, was the question that led to the launch last month of Wrapp...

Why Synagogues Started Putting American Flags in the Sanctuary

by Josefin Dolsten, JTA | Jul 15, 2018 | Community, Religion

When visiting synagogues around the world, Jewish tourists from North America are likely to notice one big difference from their home congregations: national flags are rarely inside the sanctuary. When did this uniquely North American Jewish custom originate, and why?...

What in the World Is ‘Locanthropy’?

by Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg | Jun 29, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, Religion, Spirituality

In a world where problems seem insurmountable, we need to return to basics. Each December, the Oxford English Dictionary chooses a “Word of the Year” — or sometimes two, one for the United States and one for the United Kingdom — as the year’s philological cultural...

They Tried to Take Judaism Out of Synagogue Spaces. Now They’re Coming Back to Them.

by Ben Sales, JTA | Jun 29, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, Religion, Spirituality

NEW YORK (JTA) — For 10 years, Rabbi Dan Ain has tried to take Judaism out of the synagogue. He’s convened Friday night prayers in auditoriums with musicians like Matisyahu and Lisa Loeb. He’s held Rosh Hashanah services in a bowling alley/concert venue. He...

This Orthodox Rabbi Just Took a Job at an LGBT Synagogue

by Ben Sales, JTA | Jun 26, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, LGBT, Religion, Spirituality

NEW YORK (JTA) — In many ways, Mike Moskowitz is a typical haredi Orthodox rabbi. He wears a black suit and black hat. He sports a thick, curly beard beneath a closely shaved head. He peppers his speech with liturgical Hebrew and Yiddish words. He quotes from Jewish...

Associated Celebrates Raising More than $30 Million for 2018 Campaign

by Alan Feiler, Editor-in-Chief | Jun 21, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, Education, Elderly, Family, Religion, Schools, Spirituality

Kenneth R. Feinberg says people often ask him what he considers to be the toughest part of his job. A Washington, D.C.-based attorney and mediation specialist, Feinberg, 72, has worked on numerous high-profile compensation cases, including those involving 9/11...

How a Biracial Orthodox Rabbi is Using his Background to Create a Unique Community in Brooklyn

by Josefin Dolsten, JTA | Jun 18, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, Religion

NEW YORK (JTA) — Growing up in the Orthodox community of Monsey, N.Y., as the son of an African-American mother who converted to Judaism and a white Ashkenazi father who became religious later in life, Isaiah Rothstein knows what it’s like not to fit in. The New York...

Synagogues Become Nightclubs in Eastern Europe

by Cnaan Liphshiz | Jun 1, 2018 | Community, Community Resources, Religion

TRNAVA, Slovakia (JTA) — Growing up, Robert Sajtlava remembers playing near what used to be his native city’s Orthodox Synagogue. A rectangular structure with a deceptively unimpressive facade, its ornate ceiling and interior walls suffered extensive damage from...