Frankly, I was skeptical about attending services online – but it was the occasion of the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) for my wife’s brother, and this was our only option for respecting her wish to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish with our Jewish community.
Our ancestors turned to that pillar for strength and support in their time of waiting; so too, can we turn for help in these unprecedented times. Here is a prayer that might be recited as we light the Shabbat candles.
Instead of walking into Beth David’s sanctuary and settling into the wooden pews, my husband and I perched next to each other in front of my MacBook Air and logged onto Zoom, a video conferencing tool.
My mother died on Shabbat Shirah, the Sabbath when Moses and the children of Israel sang while Miriam the Prophet led everyone in dance after crossing the sea to freedom.
As I was leading Torah study at our synagogue nearly a year ago, an evil man murdered my friends and co-religionists because to him, Jews are strangers and dangerous.
Tot Shabbat is important for our daughter and for us. Each week, it helps us integrate Judaism and its values into her life and build our own Jewish community.
https://www.nifcan.org/get-involved/naomi-chazan-fellowship/
Critiquing Israel was not something I ever felt was appropriate for me to do, but there had to be more to the story than I knew. I needed to learn the facts about Israel.
When an acquaintance asked me: “Are you a practicing Jew?” I answered “Yes,” but the question got me thinking about what it means to be a practicing Jew.
On a recent Shabbat, I spent the time with friends in the park. Within a few steps of our blanket, we watched people from every corner of Jerusalem spend the afternoon.
On Shabbat a group from Physicians for Human Rights Israel, the only Israeli non-profit allowed to enter Gaza, goes to the West Bank to offer a mobile medical clinic.