Steven I. Weiss
By Steven I. Weiss
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Israel News Female Performers Take a Break As Ringling Bros. Courts Orthodox
Don’t expect to see a bearded lady at the April 8 performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in New York. But there should be plenty of other beards in the stands. In an effort to accommodate the religious sensibilities of many ultra-Orthodox circus fans, on the third day of Passover the…
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News Author Challenges Rambam’s Principles
A religious debate over intellectual freedom is brewing in the Orthodox world, following the recent publication of a book challenging the widespread view within Orthodoxy that Maimonides’s Thirteen Principles of Faith represents a binding articulation of Jewish theological dogma. In his book, “The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles Reappraised,” Marc Shapiro, a professor…
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News WJC Tour Offers Crash Course in Judaism
A delegation of French Catholic bishops toured New York last week for what amounted to a crash course in Judaism. Organized by the World Jewish Congress, the four-day encounter included visits to institutions ranging from Reform to Chasidic. WJC chairman Israel Singer described the tour as an outgrowth of a desire to further the interreligious…
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News No Jail Time for German Tourist Who Punched Celebrity Masseuse
A German tourist in New York City pleaded guilty last week to assaulting a non-Jewish woman wearing a Star of David, whom he called a “Jewish pig.” Dorothy “Dr. Dot” Stein — a celebrity masseuse who has worked the shoulders and backs of Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Sheryl Crow, among others — has worn…
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News Ultra-Orthodox Officials Go To Bat for Anti-Gentile Book
A leading ultra-Orthodox organization has launched a campaign to shift attention from a controversial book on Jewish superiority, choosing instead to attack the Forward’s reporting on it. Agudath Israel of America has refused to condemn the book by Rabbi Saadya Grama, published in Hebrew under the title “Romemut Yisrael Ufarashat Hagalut,” which can be translated…
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News Patent Office Rules Against Kabbalists
Thanks to The Kabbalah Centre, various celebrities can be spotted donning red strings on their wrists that Jewish mystics say can ward off evil spirits. Apparently the threads, also known as bindles, do not work against the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent office has rejected an attempt by The Kabbalah Centre to…
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News Life in the Kickline: A Rockette’s Story
As the days grow shorter, a California native and observant Jew named Rhonda Kaufman Malkin has been spending her evenings up to her eyeballs in ear-high kicks. But it’s not for Sukkot that she’s been hoofing it up, it’s her job — and her passion. Malkin, 25, is a Rockette, and audiences who missed her…
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News Rabbis’ Confab To Bridge Denominations
The founders of an upcoming conference in New York would probably never pray together, but they will study Torah together. Lishmah, a term used to describe learning Jewish texts for the sake of learning, is the brainchild of 10 rabbis in New York City. The one-day conference featuring numerous sessions of Jewish learning is most…
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