Free Republic

Chaim Potok captured the strain of transition from religious traditionalism to artistic expression in his fictional character Asher Lev. As a young boy, Asher, a painter prodigy and the son of a chasidic luminary, is drawn to a Brooklyn museum where he surreptitiously views crucifixions and nudes. He subsequently paints such scenes. Asher’s mother tries to understand her son’s artistic longings, yet says in exasperation, “Your painting. It’s taken us to Jesus. And to the way they paint women. Painting is for goyim, Asher. Jews don’t draw and paint.” Asher responds, “Chagall is a Jew,” but his mother cuts him...

I live in a historically Jewish building in New York City. On most days, its two elevators service each section of this rather monolithic structure—just enough to keep up with the flow of residents going up and down. But come Friday evening, one of the cars is switched into Shabbos mode, meaning that it stops at every single floor automatically, backing the tenants up like resentful clogs in beige-yellow arteries. It does so for religious reasons, since many observant Jews avoid pressing electric buttons on Shabbat. [SNIP] Shabbos (or Shabbat) Elevators are common in Israel and in other dense centers...

Have you ever been to this website? If so, what is your opinion of it? All opinions are welcome. Does this website like Benny Hinn, TD Jakes, Charismatics, Billy Graham, Pope Francis, and others all at the same time? I am not absolutely sure of this, but it seems to. Link to Charisma Magazine below. My opinion of Charisma Magazine? Babylon.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary loss means Congress will soon say goodbye to its only Jewish Republican. And not only that; it also means there will likely be no Republicans in Congress who profess to be anything other than a Christian. According to data collected by the Pew Forum at the start of the 113th Congress last year, the GOP conference was 69 percent Protestant, 25 percent Catholic, 4 percent Mormon and 1 percent Orthodox Christian. Cantor (Va.) was the only member of any other faith on the Republican side in either the House or the Senate -- out...

Don’t get me wrong, as a Jewish person, I support with every fiber in my body the requirement, even the need for Jewish parents to circumcise their sons. But over the years, I’ve read tons of evidence proving both sides of the circumcision debate, and I have had no use for them. The only valid reason I see for the brutal attack with a sharp knife on a defenseless infant is if God said so.

Frightening article in the Telegraph: Gay Danish couples win right to marry in church. The country's parliament voted through the new law on same-sex marriage by a large majority, making it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages. .... Under the law, individual priests can refuse to carry out the ceremony, but the local bishop must arrange a replacement for their church. I am sure at first most Catholic clergy will refuse and bishops will not comply but down the line, in two or three years, what will happen, and if this law were introduced into England, or the...

Orthodox Jewish activists drove Christian pilgrims out of the Cenacle, the “upper room” revered as the site of the Last Supper, on June 9. About 30 militants, including one member of the Israeli parliament, disrupted a prayer service being held by Christians. The building, which is also revered by Jews as the site of King David’s tomb, is owned by the Israeli government, and Christian services are ordinarily not permitted there. Ownership of the building in Jerusalem has become a contentious issue in Israeli politics. Pope Francis was granted permission to celebrate Mass in the Cenacle, despite protests from some...

I strongly disagree with Caroline Glick’s conclusion in her May 27 article that Pope Francis “is leading the Catholic Church in a distressingly anti-Jewish direction.” I can understand Caroline’s distress at some of the pope’s actions and words but it is important to have balance and not draw wrong conclusions. Pope Francis is totally committed to reconciliation between the Church and Israel. I would like to demonstrate this under five headings: 1. State of Israel Pope Francis in his first Encyclical in November 2013 affirmed God’s everlasting covenant with the Jews: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because...

Jews defending Judaism with the best defense...

For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Francis issued the invitation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit last week to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, Peres, and Francis will be joined by Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders, a statement released by Peres’s spokesperson said, according to the Times of Israel. Holy See officials on Friday said the evening prayers would be...

In a sign of the precarious state of Presbyterian-Jewish relations, the rabbi who heads the largest branch of Judaism in North America will appeal directly to the Presbyterian Church (USA) to step back from a series of critical resolutions aimed at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Invited to address the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Detroit, which begins next week, Rabbi Rick Jacobs said the Presbyterians have the choice of making things worse, or better. “It’s a critical moment,” said Jacobs, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, representing about 1.9 million Jews. “Much is at stake.” At issue...

The Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, has confirmed that both sides have decided on Pentecost Sunday as the meeting date. The meeting will take place in the afternoon in the Vatican. "We will soon decide on a date and then we’l discuss the content," the Custodian of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, had told SIR, the Italian Episcopate’s religious information service. Francis asked Pizzaballa to organise the prayer meeting in the Vatican, which he announced at the end of the mass he celebrated in bethlehem last Sunday. The official date has now been set and was announced by the Vatican spokesman,...

In an interview with the Milanese newspaper Il Giornale, the Vatican’s Secretary of State discussed Pope Francis’s decision to invite the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican to pray for peace. “We have experienced the power of prayer in the initiative of the Pope for Syria,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “Prayer is capable of transforming hearts and then transforming history.” The Pope designated September 7 a day of prayer for peace in Syria, a week after President Barack Obama had sought congressional approval for military intervention there. On September 9, President Obama decided to delay pursuing military action. Cardinal...

Pope Francis left a note at the Wall in accordance with Jewish tradition. Below, he embraces his two friends (Photo: PA) On his last day in the Holy Land, Pope Francis prayed at the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, before an emotional hug with two old friends – a Muslim leader and a rabbi.Francis stood at the Wall for more than a minute and a half, most of the time in silent prayer, before reciting the Our Father. Then he followed custom by leaving a written message inside a crack between two blocks. He was accompanied by his...

A chandelier of candles hangs in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel. Credit: Lauren Cater / CNA. Jerusalem, Israel, May 26, 2014 / 02:35 am (CNA).- On the last day of his Holy Land pilgrimage Pope Francis stopped to pray at two sacred sites in Jerusalem. The Pontiff visited the the Western Wall in Jerusalem on the morning of May 26, pausing to pray at the site and leaving the Our Father in Spanish tucked into one of the cracks. The Wall is a sacred place for Jews, the only remains of second temple. Deviating from his...

Pope Francis meets with seminarians from the Pontifical Roman universities on May 12, 2014 Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA Jerusalem, Israel, May 26, 2014 / 10:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Jewish Rabbi and historian has lauded Pope Francis’ visit to the tomb of an important Jewish personality, stating that he is the most accommodating Pope history has seen. Pope Francis has taken “certainly the most friendly, proactive, accommodating position of any Pope probably in history” toward the Jewish people, Rabbi Ken Spiro explained to CNA May 26. The fact that the Roman Pontiff has “gone somewhere such as Herzl’s tomb is kind...

Pope Francis privately visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome this morning to pray and entrust to the Virgin Mary his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After 15 minutes of meditation and prayer before the image of Mary known as Salus Populi Romani, Pope Francis offered a bouquet of white and yellow roses at the feet of the Virgin. Since the beginning of his papal ministry in March 2013, this is the eighth visit Pope Francis has made to the Virgin Mary, under whose protection he has placed his pontificate. Speaking to Vatican Radio, the archpriest of the basilica,...

Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See Dr. Zion Evrony speaks with CNA on May 20, 2014 Credit: Andreas Dueren/CNA Vatican City, May 21, 2014 / 10:36 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In comments made to CNA, the Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See noted that the presence of both a rabbi and a Muslim in the Pope’s delegation to the Holy Land is a milestone in interreligious relations. “For the first time in history Rabbi Skorka from Argentina, who is a friend of Pope Francis, will accompany him but also a Muslim religious leader, Imam Abbud, also from Argentina,” Dr. Zion...

Some 2,300 Sudanese and Eritrean refugees seeking asylum in Israel, most of them Christian, are being detained at an asylum camp in the Israeli desert, according to Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel. “The grim surroundings, the heat and the overcrowded rooms created the impression of a prison,” according to the vicariate, which stated that most refugees arrived over two years ago. Pastoral visit to Holot (Saint James Vicariate For Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel)

Logo for Pope Francis' pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Rome, Italy, May 20, 2014 / 02:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Abraham Skorka, an Argentine rabbi who has long been a friend of Pope Francis, has told a Jesuit magazine of the background of their upcoming pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which will occur May 24-26. “We dreamt of being together in front of the Western Wall of the Temple of Jerusalem and to embrace … and that I would accompany him to Bethlehem, to be on his side in such a meaningful moment for him,” Skorka...