A shelter for the soul The Home Front Command urges us to properly prepare the shelters in our homes and in public places. They explain that it is a matter of saving lives—actual, physical lives. A shelter and the need to prepare it carefully it advance are not new. The Bible tells us about the […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) After his death in 1915, Solomon Schechter’s legacy of Zionism continued through key members of the Jewish Theological Seminary faculty and through the stream of rabbinical school graduates. Conservative Movement historian Rabbi Simcha Kling noted: “Conservative Judaism was unique among the contemporary […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) In “The Zionism of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 1902-1948,” Dr. Naomi Cohen affirmed that Solomon Schechter’s “religious Zionism found a ready response among seminary students, many of whom were already Zionist sympathizers. The young men flocked to sermons and lectures […]
Iran and Hezbollah’s Escalating Conflict Against America and Israel BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – STORIES We value the feedback of our readers and invite you to please take 15 seconds to answer two questions about this week’s edition by clicking the image right below the Actions to Consider section. After enduring nearly a […]
MERCAZ USA General Council Meeting 2024 The MERCAZ USA General Council meeting took place on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 via Zoom. During the meeting, we discharged our outgoing board and installed our new leadership team. Please download the Report of the Nominating Committee to the Membership here. As part of our program, an important panel […]
UN Legitimizes Seat for Palestine: Trophy for 10/7 BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – FACTS – ACTIONS – STORIES We value the feedback of our readers and invite you to please take 10 seconds to answer two questions about this week’s edition by clicking the image right below the Actions to Consider section. Despite a raging […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) Upon assuming the leadership of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Solomon Schechter immediately proceeded to assemble a high-quality roster of faculty committed to joining with him in interpreting Judaism for American Jews. As Norman Bentwich observed, Schechter’s recruitment […]
Our tradition places great importance on the connections we feel with other people. We note those connections through happy events, such as a wedding or Bat Mitzvah, and sad events, such as a funeral and burial. In this week’s Torah reading, Ki Tetse, we read of how we must let a captured woman mourn the […]
Islamist Terrorism Still Threatening Freedom and Democracy BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES As we mark the 23rd anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are reminded of the nearly 3,000 innocent lives lost in the brutal acts of terrorism. Their memory lives on, not only in the hearts of their loved ones, […]
We are in the midst of the sheva‘ de-neḥamta, the seven Haftarot of consolation that are chanted between Tish‘ah Be-Av and Rosh Hashanah. How can we be consoled this year, in the wake of the slaughter on October 7? Ibn Ezra and modern scholars teach us that Isaiah 40–66 were written by a second author […]