It is a common practice among Hasidic Jews to abstain from studying the Torah on Christmas Eve. This tradition is remarkable, since for one thing, religious Jews do not usually have customs associated with Christian holidays. For another, studying of Torah is considered one of the most important things Jews must do, and they otherwise…
(JTA) — Israeli researchers say they have found a ring that belonged to Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect who had Jesus crucified. The copper alloy jewelry was one of the artifacts found during a 1968-69 dig unearthing a section of a tomb and palace belonging to the biblical King Herod near Bethlehem in the West…
When it comes to the history of vegetarianism, Jews have been swearing off meat for a very long time. “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food,” it is written in Genesis 1:29. Many scholars take this…
Do you ever read something that makes you go… oh, Jesus? Enter this Missoulian letter to the editor, which compares Representative Greg Gianforte’s body-slamming of reporter Ben Jacobs to Jesus overthrowing the tables of money-lenders in the Jewish temple. “He also proved to be a real Montanan to his supporters who are not self-proclaimed Christians…
While historians are still debating whether the Last Supper was a Passover Seder or a normal dinner, researchers are coming closer to uncovering one key element: What type of wine would have been served at the meal. Wine has been produced in the Middle East for at least 6,000 years, according to research conducted by…
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The leader of Israel’s main Republican group called Sarah Silverman a “self-hating Jew” and said she “needs a muzzle.” Marc Zell made the comments Saturday night on the Republicans Overseas Israel Facebook page, which he manages as the group’s co-chairman. The post links to a blog post about a decade-old video clip of…
Does Islam needs its own Martin Luther? Does it need its own “Reformation,” which will lead to the separation of the Muslim “church” from the state? I have heard these questions frequently in the past decades from Westerners. They were right about one thing: Islam, despite being a religion that once cultivated an open, tolerant,…
Ghost churches on the western bank of the Jordan River, near where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, could be reopened to pilgrims as part of a project to remove booby-traps and land mines. The river banks were once a war zone between Israel and Jordan, and were littered with thousands of mines and…
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