Who knew he was so dedicated? Ashton Kutcher reads the Torah every Saturday. That’s what Natalie Portman said of her co-star in the upcoming romantic comedy “No Strings Attached” during a recent interview. Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, noted that Kutcher taught her more about Judaism that anyone else in her life. “Ashton’s a…
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Cheryl Weiner writes about the Torah. Every week,…
Craigslist can help you find that perfect cement mixer or even lead you to the mysterious cigarette-smoking beauty you sometimes see at your bus stop. But as a Phoenix synagogue found out last week, the sprawling advertisement site is also good for something else: recovering stolen Torah scrolls. Sam Saks, a Young Israel of Phoenix…
You expect to see naked (or near naked) women on the cover of Playboy. On the cover of ESPN magazine? Not so much. When our family’s copy of Outside magazine arrived recently, the cover made me look twice, and not in a good way. The cover photo of female climber Alex Puccio shows off her…
One of the great sporting events in Orthodox synagogues is correcting the layners — i.e., the Torah readers. The cantillations on the Torah are an intricate, lovely cultural heritage, one of our most treasured. But they are also difficult to master, require practice and are performed in front of an unmarked scroll — that is,…
For generations, scholars and cheder students have lugged around the Tanakh, the bedrock tome of Judaism, otherwise known as the Hebrew Bible. For some years now, they’ve also had access via their laptops to online versions. On September 8, the Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim – the three subsections of the Tanakh – will join the…
In attempt to counter those who accuse them of being extremists, Women of the Wall — composed of women who gather once a month for a prayer service at the Western Wall — recently asked women around the world to send in photographs of themselves reading from or holding a Torah. The campaign’s goal: Get…
There is intrigue across Israel’s Haredi community, after the sector’s media has reported on what seems to be a case of serial sefer Torah theft. Several communities in and around the central-Israel city of Lod have had scrolls stolen in recent weeks. The criminals were seemingly not opportunists, but rather individuals or gangs who had…
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