The longtime spiritual leader of North America’s oldest Jewish congregation and former president of the Rabbinical Council of America is warning that Orthodoxy is “slipping over the line to a cultic superstitious kind of religion.” Retiring after 38 years at New York’s Congregation Shearith Israel, Rabbi Marc Angel sounds off in The New York Jewish…
San Francisco’s J. newspaper reports from a “transgender Shabbat” — a first of its kind, organizers say. “The Saturday itinerary began with gender queer-themed Torah study and services in the Sha’ar Zahav sanctuary, followed by workshops. Topics ranged from legal issues facing the transgender community to developing new rituals to mark “trans” lifecycles at the…
The New York Jewish Week examines the unlikely nexus between Orthodox Judaism and surfing. Southern California’s Joe V. Surf Camp recently brought together 24 young, religious wave-riders. “Kids need more than just Babylonian Talmud to gain a sense of Jewish pride,” camp co-founder Ari Soshtain told the Jewish Week. “Surfing is unbelievable exercise, seeing how…
The Washington Jewish Week looks at the identity struggles of would-be converts to Judaism who have Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers. “I felt the decision to convert would have been a rejection of myself,” one eventual convert recalled. “‘Why couldn’t Judaism accept me and my commitment to it without a conversion?’ I would ask myself.”…
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