Judaism

Temple Ohabei Shalom: The Longest Enduring Jewish Congregation In Massachusetts

July 10, 2024

Temple Ohabei Shalom is a gorgeous synagogue that’s progressive in attitude yet traditional in practice. Constructed with wood in 1857, the Jewish temple has evolved significantly over the years, and so too has its congregation. More recently, the synagogue has pushed to create a space that’s welcoming for all. In fact, in 2004, they performed the first same-sex Jewish wedding ceremony in the state of Massachusetts.

Source: https://bostonuncovered.com/temple-ohabei-shalom/

Awe and dread: How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries

April 4, 2024

Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.

Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here’s a look at how several of the world’s major religions have responded...

Mideast War Pushes Companies to Extend Diversity Programs to Faith Groups

December 9, 2023

When Nabeela Elsayed was speaking at a corporate conference several years ago and explained that she would miss the group dinner because she was fasting for Ramadan, she recalls, her manager responded: “Just don’t fast.” Ms. Elsayed, an executive coach who was previously chief operating officer for Walmart Canada, said she had heard many such slights when stepping away during the workday to pray.

For years, she told business leaders that their diversity, equity and inclusion programming should teach workers about anti-Muslim hate, antisemitism and other...

Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically − but the same is true of Christmas

December 5, 2023

Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. Articles and op-eds in newspapers remind readers of that fact every year, lamenting that the Jewish Festival of Lights has almost become an imitation of the Christian holiday.

These pieces exist for a reason. Hanukkah is a minor festival in the Jewish liturgical year, whose major holidays come in the fall...

Parallel lives, together: How some Jewish and Palestinian Americans are navigating tensions

November 4, 2023

in places like Passaic County, which boasts a significant concentration of Palestinian Americans and has long been a hub in New Jersey for the more Conservative and Orthodox followers of Judaism, the bewildering events in the Middle East are being acutely monitored — and exposing the delicate divisions among neighbors that resurfaced this past summer, prior to the war.

While residents stand firm that violence and bias are not welcome here, charged language on social media and the bloodshed overseas are exposing stark differences but also mutual concerns among Palestinian...

Hindu and Jewish Americans foster kinship through shared traditions, connections to homeland

September 11, 2023

Hindu and Jewish Americans gathered in San Francisco last Thursday to celebrate Janmashtami and Rosh Hashana together.

In the inaugural event, held by the Hindu American Foundation and the American Jewish Committee, about 40 people gathered in the AJC building across from the Embarcadero to learn about each other’s traditions, build upon similarities and share plenty of food.

Source: https://religionnews.com/2023/09/11/hindu-and-jewish-...

For Jews, pandemic-era online worship has an enduring upside

August 31, 2023

Pandemic practices have brought what appears to be fundamental changes to how many Americans practice their faith, and Jewish worship is no exception. A new survey by the Synagogue Studies Institute finds that 85% of Jewish synagogues in the U.S. now offer worship online — a marked jump from 24% that did in 2019, prior to the pandemic. More significantly, 70% of synagogues surveyed said they expect they will continue to do so five years from now.

The survey of 248 U.S. synagogues will be published this fall as part of Faith Communities Today, a multifaith...

Summer camp in California gives Jewish children of color a haven to be different together

August 12, 2023

One camper, from Oakland, California, has a white Jewish mother and a father who is Black and Muslim. Another was adopted in Uganda by a white Jewish woman; they now live in Montana.

Like many of the young people who shared challenges and adventures with them this summer, they grew up often feeling like outliers — and then found a near-magical comfort zone at Camp Be’chol Lashon in the rolling hills of California’s Marin County. Its founders say it’s the only sleepaway summer camp specifically serving Jewish children of color, creating a safe space for candid conversations on...

For many Pittsburgh Jews, Robert Bowers deserves the death penalty

August 3, 2023

On Thursday (Aug. 3), one day after a jury unanimously decided that Robert Bowers should face the death penalty for gunning down 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue, a U.S. district judge formally sentenced Bowers to die for the worst antisemitic attack in American history.

But it will take years and likely decades for the sentence to be carried out, if it happens at all.

...

That reluctance to mete out the ultimate punishment reflects divisions among the nation’s religious groups, too. A 2014 PRRI survey showed that most religious groups are split on the...

Local Jewish advocates are fighting antisemitism with a five-step plan

May 15, 2023

Local leaders and Jewish advocates gathered at TD Garden Monday [May 15, 2023] to address the alarming rise in antisemitic incidents in Boston and nationwide. The event, hosted by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, launched the group’s ‘Face Jewish Hate’ campaign in collaboration with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism....

The campaign features a five-point plan: Face Jewish hate, empower the community, build allyship, inform and educate the next generation and strengthen communal security. Those steps were determined by a task force of community leaders and experts on...

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