Free Republic

A few weeks ago, I wrote an op-ed in The New York Observer entitled “B’nai Jeshurun: Do Jewish Lives Also Matter?” I noted that “high-profile Upper West Side Jewish temple B’nai Jeshurun led a protest after the tragic death of Eric Garner at the hands of the New York Police Department. Then, there was a pre-scheduled event at BJ honoring Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, and the attendees included such luminaries as Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Congressman Jerry Nadler and others.” Multiple rabbis and liberal Jewish communal leaders were arrested in acts of civil disobedience during...

How the story of the Magi sheds plenty of light on the historical soundness of the Gospel of Matthew and how early Christians viewed paganism. center;">"The Adoration of the Magi" by Matthias Stom (c.1600-c.1652) [http://commons.wikimedia.org/] As we saw last time in this space, the notion that Christianity is "really" warmed-over paganism is contradicted by the fact—abundantly in evidence not only in the New Testament but in the writings of the Fathers and the liturgy of the Church—that, well, early Christians just don't care much about pagan things, while both the New Testament and the Fathers are positively drowning in the...

"And so we encounter another oddity of Hanukkah: Jews know the fuller history of the holiday because Christians preserved the books that the Jews themselves lost. In a further twist, Jews in the Middle Ages encountered the story of the martyred mother and her seven sons anew in Christian literature and once again placed it in the time of the Maccabees."

Sorry, senator -- it's not happening. To the surprise of approximately nobody, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is proceeding full steam ahead with plans to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The Tea Party icon has already settled on a location for his campaign headquarters (Houston), made the requisite appeals to GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, and decided on a campaign strategy. That strategy, National Review’s Eliana Johnson reports, centers on energizing the GOP base, not wooing moderates and independents to the Republican fold. Of course, the hard demographic truth is that a Republican can’t win the presidency by relying on...

On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Jesus' birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods - these all characterize the feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 become associated with Jesus' birthday? The Bible offers few clues: Celebrations of Jesus' nativity are not mentioned in the Gospels or Acts; the date is not given, not even the time of year. The biblical reference to shepherds tending their flocks at night when the hear the news of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:8)...

In the middle of the cavernous and ornate Al Aqsa Mosque on top of Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount – an Islamic cleric began drawing a crowd as he delivered an impromptu sermon warning the Jewish people that they are about to be “slaughtered without mercy.”

Hollywood, still wet from the soaking it took from Noah, has headed for the desert with Moses in the new movie Exodus: Gods and Kings. Surely this time we have a foolproof crowd pleaser filled only with milk and honey? Or, instead, is it going to be a lot of grumbling at bitter herbs?The movie, which opens today, stars Christian Bale, best known for his Batman portrayal, and is directed by Ridley Scott, no stranger to big screen extravaganzas like his film Gladiator. In 3D, and costing an estimated $140, 000,000, this must have appeared a formidable proposition. I mean,...

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview, his first to the Israeli media, Pope Francis expresses his sadness at the Jerusalem synagogue attack and the lack of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, voices his hatred for anti-Semitism and talks of his fears for the Christian communities persecuted by the Islamic State. The spiritual father of 1.2 billion people lives in a two-room apartment in Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican City's guesthouse. With its outdated furniture, a 1970s-style sofa, papers scattered on the floor in a work corner, and piles of books that no one dares to tidy, the small and modest abode...

Have you noticed that nobody loves modern churches? Nobody. I mean NOBODY.Seriously. Have you ever met anyone who sees a church like this and and heard them whisper, “I just love that church! It is so inspiring!”.No. Never.Have you ever gone into a “worship space” like this and heard someone say how awed they were to be in the presence of God? I doubt it.  That’s because these buildings were not designed to inspire awe or to remind you about the presence of God. They are people centered, not God centered. They are auditoria not temples.There is a gut level...

A light unto nations. In the spirit of the recent Dennis Prager posts on the Ten Commandments, an audio class on Jewish impact on the World. A fascinating anthropological-like contrasting of world history against Jewish History. It's long-ish but highly informative on how the good old (ancient) days weren't so good without the Ten Commandments. Hate the civil society? Blame the Joooooooooossssss!

Pacifists use a mistranslation of the Sixth Commandment in the King James Bible to justify their cause. Ask almost anyone to recite the commandment in the Ten Commandments that prohibits taking a life, and you will be told, “Thou shalt not kill.” That is the King James translation of the Sixth Commandment. Overall, it is a magnificent translation. But this one has led to much moral confusion. Yesterday, PragerUniversity.com, which has had more than 20 million views this year, released eleven courses (each five minutes long) — the Ten Commandments and an introduction. The reason we made these video courses...

A humorous (if you understand Jewish ritual law--halacha) take on "the halacha" of Christmas trees-- Know that Jews have myriad laws governing daily life... For example, Chanukah candles must be kindles at a certain time, and last a certain duration...and oy vey what happens in a million after-the-fact cases where one did NOT meet the requirements, etc. All the funny quirky things you positively love about us Jews. What if they were transposed onto Christmas... the results might be something like this: (key: "Mitzvah" means commandment:) 1. PREPARATIONS FOR XMAS MUST NOT BEGIN(1) BEFORE THANKSGIVING.(2) THIS APPLIES TO PREPARATIONS WHICH...

A brief (8 minute) talk about the connection between Thanksgiving, its acknowledgement of G-d, America's religious freedom/founding, and Chanukah (spreading light.) Note: This is subtitled (the Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson speaks in Yiddish) but it's worth listening, reading, and watching. He highlights our REAL American values so poignantly and perfectly-- and blesses Reagan to boot... a great end of the Holiday!

Link to the (ongoing) "Kinut haShluchim" Conference of the Emissaries, the rabbis of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement throughout the US (all stated but SD!) and abroad.

Being married to two wives is biblically permitted but rabinically prohibited in Ashkenazi circles since the prohibition of Rabbeinu Gershom in the tenth century. Even under biblical law however, a man may not be married to two wives who are sisters. Neither may a man divorce his wife and marry her sister. Such a marriage belongs to the category of arayot, carries the punishment of karet, and is ineffective. The only situation in which a man may marry his wife’s sister is after his wife is no longer alive. Yibum, levirate marriage, cannot be entered into with a woman whose...

Turkey was once one of the most religiously tolerant majority Muslim societies in its attitude toward Jews. The reason wasn’t so much tolerant political culture, but rather a belief that the Jews were a tranquil, loyal minority. After all, Turkish school books taught that while Greeks, Armenians, and Arabs all rose up against the Ottomans, the Jews did not. Hence, Turkey boasted along with Iran either the second or third largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel itself. In recent years, of course, this has changed. Just as...

American actor Shia LaBeouf has been making headlines over the past year for several stunts unrelated to his previously blossoming career. Between announcing his retirement from the public eye, claiming "I am not famous anymore," to hosting an art exhibit a la Marina Abramovitch to hiring a skywriter to apologize for plagiarizing Daniel Clowes, LaBeouf has been called everything from eccentric to insane.

The most common reason why people convert to Judaism today, I would guess, is because they want to marry a Jewish spouse. Such conversions are a sign of the amazing acceptance that Judaism enjoys in America, compared to the stigma it labored under for most of Western history. For a Christian to marry a Jew in medieval Europe meant stigmatization, isolation, perhaps even violence, as it does in many parts of the Muslim world today. For us, it is simply a personal choice, even a laudable demonstration of spousal loyalty. It was surprising to learn in this week’s Daf Yomi...

F r. Benedict Groeschel, whose death we all mourn, lived at Trinity House in Larchmont, a hundred yards from my late mother-in-law. Coming from Cologne, Germany, where Jews had good relationships with the Catholic Church, my late mother-in-law chose to continue that tradition. Whenever she cooked for the Jewish holidays, a portion was sent down the block to Fr. Benedict. Whenever objects had to be disposed of, they went to Fr. Benedict. In this way, everything, from used clothing to used cars, was recycled to the poor through Fr. Benedict. We always visited him on the days before Christmas with...

Police Investigation Into Rabbi And Recordings of Women Is Expanding By Peter Hermann October 16 The prominent Georgetown rabbi accused of recording women at his synagogue’s ritual bath had numerous computers and storage devices in his home along with files of women undressing, according to a search warrant filed in D.C. Superior Court. Police arrested Barry Freundel, rabbi of Kesher Israel Congregation, on Tuesday and searched both the synagogue on N Street NW and Freundel’s home, a few blocks away on O Street. In two affidavits unsealed Thursday, police said the investigation is expanding beyond the six women mentioned in...