Jennifer Siegel
By Jennifer Siegel
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News Wrestling ‘Kabbalah’ From Madonna, Britney
The likes of Madonna, Demi Moore and Britney Spears have brought the ancient Jewish mystical practice and teachings of Kabbalah into mainstream pop culture. The ladies are photographed wearing superstitious red-string bracelets; they drink specially blessed water and, most controversially, they have raised the profile of the Kabbalah Centre. The center, which is not tied…
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News School Offers New Degree in Spirituality
Rabbi Yakov Travis has a message for spiritual seekers: Come down from that mountaintop, move to Cleveland and go back to school. Travis, a professor at Cleveland’s Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies, has created America’s first nondenominational master’s degree program in spirituality. “This is about [the students’] own spiritual journey,” said Travis,…
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News Conference Focuses on Women’s Needs
Hundreds of women hoping to get in touch with their spiritual side are heading to California for a first-of-its-kind conference. Chochmat HaLev, a center for Jewish spirituality located in Berkeley, Calif., is organizing a Jewish Women’s Conference, slated for July in San Francisco. The one-day event is aimed at meeting the needs of women, who…
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News Seeking ‘A New Way To Daven’
While the bulk of synagogue reform initiatives have originated in Conservative and Reform circles, renewal efforts have also emerged recently in the Orthodox community. Last week, the Orthodox Union — which represents some 1,000 congregations — announced a first-time grant competition to reward synagogues for displaying innovative programming that strengthens congregational or community life. Starting…
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Israel News Tinseltown Rabbi Saves a Prayer for Prime-time Show
Michelle Missaghieh is a rabbi. And she plays one on TV. On May 15, viewers of ABC’s hit medical dramedy “Grey’s Anatomy” will be introduced to Missaghieh on an episode titled “Save Me,” in which a newly Orthodox 17-year-old girl struggles with her faith when faced with a potentially fatal heart condition. The decision to…
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News New for Conservative Jews: Passover at Beach
The brochure promises the most lavish of vacation getaways. The hotel, gleaming with white walls, features a 60-foot glass atrium, a pool cascading with waterfalls, ocean views and access to five-star tennis courts. When it’s time to escape from the rigors of relaxing, afternoon tea or a massage are close at hand. But that’s not…
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News UJC Training Women To Be Top Leaders
In an effort to shatter its own glass ceiling, the country’s main Jewish philanthropic organization is tapping women to fill half the slots in a training program for top executives. The United Jewish Communities announced last week that 12 women will be selected to take part in a training program aimed at training future leaders…
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News Cantors, Rabbis Still Out of Tune, A Parley Shows
HOUSTON — When Reform rabbis recently gathered here for their annual convention, it was hard not to see traces of the 1960s in the sandals, the guitars and the progressive political agenda. But when addressing their own power relations with cantors, the rabbis seemed to see some virtue in the status quo. They passed overwhelmingly…
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