Using the Shmita year to tackle climate change and inequality By Sen. Meghan Kallman, Rabbi Lex Rofeberg, JTA Sep 20, 2021 We are in an era of multiple interlocking crises. From record-breaking heat waves to wildfires to water shortages, from rising authoritarianism to a pandemic rampaging across the world, it is clear that, to survive, human beings will need to make urgent, major changes to how we live. Bold policy proposals already exist to address these… Read More
World Mallorca’s first ‘public’ sukkah is a triumph over the Spanish Inquisition Before the Spanish Inquisition, the island of Mallorca had a sizeable Jewish community. Every fall, the island became dotted with the leaf-roofed huts… By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA Sep 20, 2021
Torah The song Moses gave to the Israelites The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. Ha’azinu Deuteronomy 32:1-52 There is a lot of… By Rabbi Joey Felsen Sep 17, 2021
First Person We're spending the High Holidays traveling the world — virtually This article originally appeared on Kveller. One of the distinctively Jewish benefits of the pandemic is that we can attend services virtually anywhere… By Avi Dresner, JTA Sep 14, 2021
U.S. For this Surfside rabbi, the High Holidays are for processing grief If there’s one thing Rabbi Sholom Lipskar wants to remember from the aftermath of the Surfside condo collapse in June, it’s the small cards that he… By Shira Hanau, JTA Sep 14, 2021
First Person Give yourself some credit this year with this positive Yom Kippur prayer Every year during the High Holidays, Jews recite a litany of ways we have fallen short in a confessional prayer. Known as a viddui, the prayer is a… By Rabbi Jillian Cameron, Cantor Juval Porat, JTA Sep 13, 2021
Torah This week is Shabbat Shuvah — a time to practice creative discomfort The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. Vayeilech Deuteronomy 31:1-30 Author’s note: This… By Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan Sep 10, 2021
Opinion Who by water? Who by fire? Climate crisis demands Jewish response “Who shall live and who shall die … who by water and who by fire … who by earthquake and who by plague …” Twenty years ago, people cried when they said… By Nigel Savage, Jakir Manela, JTA Sep 9, 2021
Religion 700-year-old Rosh Hashanah prayerbook on auction for $4 million If you find your synagogue’s prayerbook a little dull at Rosh Hashanah services next week, you may be able to buy a livelier — and much older —… By Ben Sales, JTA Sep 5, 2021