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Dec. 3, 2008
Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning
Don Terry: Lifetime, no see
Dec. 2, 2008
Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world
Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack
Dec. 1, 2008
Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings
Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?
Nov. 28, 2008
Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be
Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?
Nov. 26, 2008
Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership
Andrea Simantov:
Shades of life
Nov. 25, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence
The Kosher Gourmet
by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!
Nov. 24, 2008
Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'
Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends
Nov. 21, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?
Caroline B. Glick:
Civilization walks the plank
Nov. 20, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness
The Kosher Gourmet
By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto
Nov, 19, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality
Elliot B. Gertel:
'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?
Nov, 18, 2008
Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason
Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?
Nov, 17, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason
Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?
Nov, 14, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia
Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead
Nov, 13, 2008
Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic
The Kosher Gourmet
by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla
Nov, 12, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers
Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks
Nov, 11, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?
Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate
Nov, 10, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?
Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist
Nov, 7, 2008
Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality
Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy
Nov, 6, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism
The Kosher Gourmet
By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes
Nov, 5, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors
Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie
Nov, 4, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law
Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East
Nov, 3, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?
Jonathan Tobin:
Was He Wrong About Everything?
March 22, 2007
J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 24, 2008
/ 24 Elul 5768
Home for the Holy Days
By
Greg Crosby
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Happy Rosh Hashanah! Can you believe it's 5769 already? Time flies. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was dating my checks 5760. Jewish New Year celebrates the creation of the world and is a time for reflection and self evaluation. It is one of the Jewish tradition's holiest days, the days when Jews most commonly attend services at synagogue. Rosh Hashanah begins this year (2008) on the evening of September 29th. Save the date.
| DREADING JUDAISM'S MOST SPIRITUALLY
UPLIFTING SEASON? YOU AREN'T ALONE! |
| Every year at this time, JWR receives requests from SINCERE Jews who, knowing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are just days away, are frustrated. They want to get something meaningful out of the season, but don't know where to turn.
The synagogue or temple they DON'T attend during the year doesn't lift their spirit. It may be because the rabbi's sermons -- which often include a political bent -- aren't to their liking. It may be because they don't want to compete in a fashion show. Or, simply, that their level of Hebrew fluency isn't adequate.
In the past, I've directed my correspondents to local groups that I felt they'd grow and gain from. THIS YEAR, a friend has compiled an online list of such places. Each service is MEANINGFUL, COMFORTABLE & NON-JUDGMENTAL --- and EASY TO FOLLOW AND UNDERSTAND. Many are FREE. The ones that aren't, are reasonably priced. (No memberships to buy, either). And, truth be told, NOBODY WILL TURNED AWAY IF IN FACT THE SITUATION WARRANTS IT.
Here's the website: http://www.HighHolidayService.com.
PLEASE forward and post this info to those who might gain from it.
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There's an old joke that really says more of the modern secular Jewish American family then it does about Rosh Hashanah itself. It goes like this: A father calls his son, David, in New York and says "I hate to tell you this, but your mother and I can't stand each other anymore and have decided to get a divorce! Enough is enough! I want to live out the rest of my life in peace. I'm telling this to you now so that you and your sister shouldn't go into shock later when I move out!"
The father hangs up and the son immediately calls up his sister in the Hamptons and tells her the news. The sister says, "I'll handle this!" She immediately calls Florida and gets her father on the phone. "Please, Daddy, please don't do ANYTHING until David and I get there! We'll be there Friday night." "Alright," the father says. "We won't do anything until you get here." He hangs up the phone and hollers to his wife, "Okay, Sadie, they're coming for Rosh Hashanah but we'll have to come up with something else for Passover."
It might make for a funny joke, but the idea that mom and dad have to coerce their kids to come to a religious family get together is a sad commentary on Jewish American life. According to internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia, assimilation into our modern secular culture has been a major factor in the declining rate of religious Jews in America.
"The same social and cultural characteristics of the United States of America that facilitated the extraordinary economic, political, and social success of the American Jewish community have also been attributed to contributing to widespread assimilation, a controversial and significant issue in the modern American Jewish community. While not all Jews disapprove of intermarriage, many members of the Jewish community have become concerned that the high rate of interfaith marriage will result in the eventual disappearance of the American Jewish community."
The article goes on to say that intermarriage rates have risen from roughly 6% in 1950 to approximately 40%-50% in the year 2000. This in combination with the comparatively low birthrate in the Jewish community, has led to a 5% decline in the Jewish population of the United States in the 1990s with only about 33% of intermarried couples raising their children with a Jewish religious upbringing. That's a lot of people not coming home for Rosh Hashanah.
Our Jewishness is a lot more than bagels and lox and an extensive Barbra Streisand record collection. It goes deeper than uttering a few Yiddish phrases and putting on a yarmulke at weddings and funerals. Its even more than just a way of life - it's a way of thinking.
For those non-religious Jews who would like to rediscover their heritage, there's no better time to do it than the High Holy Days. And there's no better way to do it than to contact a local synagogue. There are plenty around.
A lot of the time a synagogue won't want to turn away a Jew who wants to pray on the High Holidays, so if you want to go and cannot afford it, then call up a synagogue and see what they can do.
Have a happy and inspirational Rosh Hashanah. And go be with your family for the holidays if you can.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.
Greg Crosby Archives
© 2006, Greg Crosby
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