Tag Archive for Jewish Culture

IN PHOTOS: Passover Seder held by the Jews of Kaifeng, China

 

The Kaifeng Jews according to some, are direct descendants of Sephardi Jewish traders who settled in China during the 8th or 9th century.


The community of Kaifeng held one of the first Seder meals to be held by indigenous Chinese Jews in generations this week.

Kaifeng

Kaifeng Jews, Burning of unleavened bread (Chametz). 
There are around 1,000 residents of Jewish descent in the city, one of China’s former imperial capitals. The Seder, was organized by Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel.Burning of the unleavened bread (Chametz).

The Shavei Israel organization aims at helping people of Jewish descent to “rediscover or renew their link with the people of Israel.”

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When was the Passover Haggadah written?

Different Rabbis composed different portions during different periods, for instance, the ancient ‘Four Questions’ was modified when Jews gave up sacrifices.

 

After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, the Jewish religion faced one of its greatest challenges: adapting to this new reality, in which a central focus of religious observance was suddenly and brutally gone.

Dayenu in the  the Birds' Head Haggadah manuscript, South Germany. c.1300

Dayenu in the the Birds’ Head Haggadah manuscript, South Germany. c.- 1300 Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Sodabottle

The Jewish leadership reestablished the Sanhedrin, the Jewish legal council recognized by the Romans, in the city of Yavne. Handed the daunting task of leading the Jewish people down a new road was Rabban Gamaliel II, who resided over the Sanhedrin assembly as Nasi.

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Denmark & Norway allow male circumcision under gov’t guidelines

By JTA

 

Resisting calls to ban the non-medical circumcision of boys, the governments of Norway and Denmark have taken steps to preserve the practice’s legal status.

Health Minister Bent Høie on the podium at the Parliament in Oslo. - Photo: Thomas Winje Øijord/NTB Scanpix

Health Minister Bent Høie on the podium at the Parliament in Oslo. – Photo: Thomas Winje Øijord/NTB Scanpix

Norway’s health ministry has submitted a bill that proposes placing some limitations and fees on ritual circumcision but not banning it outright, while Denmark’s health board issued guidelines stating that the practice is legal.

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Study Determines Circumcision Comparable to Vaccination

American-Australian medical research team finds 50% of uncircumcised males will contract an adverse medical condition caused by their foreskin.

By

 

An Australian-American team of researchers recommended circumcising infant males to avoid diseases, in a new study that compared the practice to vaccination.

A mohel doctor is surround by other rabbis and relatives as he holds a boy at his circumcision.

A mohel is surround by other rabbis and relatives as he holds a boy at his circumcision. Photo: AP

The team, led by Brian Morris of the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney, asserted in their newly published study that half of uncircumcised males will contract an adverse medical condition caused by their foreskin. Continue Reading »

Oscar win for Documentary on oldest Holocaust survivor- 7 days after her death

The film’s director Malcolm Clarke, mentioned how he was most impressed by Herz-Sommer’s “extraordinary capacity for joy” and “amazing capacity for forgiveness.”

By JTA, JPOST.COM STAFF

 

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life won best documentary short. It’s subject, Holocaust survivor Alice Herz-Sommer, died last week at age 110.

Alice Herz Sommer - The Lady In Number 6

Holocaust survivor Alice Herz-Sommer (ז”ל), died last week at age 110.

Herz-Sommer, the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, who died in London on Feb. 23 at the age of 110, was the subject of The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, which won the Academy Award for documentary short Sunday night. Continue Reading »

The 1st marathon runner was Jewish…not Greek

In honor of Friday’s Tel Aviv Marathon, we note that a run described in the bible predates the Greek myth on which modern marathons are based.

Plus: A note from Jewish Runner Hall of Fame.

 

Tomorrow, Friday morning, thousands of runners will be taking to the streets. Yes, it’s the Tel Aviv Marathon, and the perfect time to debunk some myths about Jews and sports, specifically – running.

Pheidippides (Wikimedia)

Pheidippides delivering the message of victory after the Battle of Marathon, Luc-Olivier Merson, 1869.- Photo: Wikimedia

The first modern marathon was at the first latter-day Olympics, held in Athens in 1896.

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Listen: Israeli song top hit in Yemen

The illegal disk, “Sana’a al-Yemen” blares from stereos & car speakers. “Come with me to Sanaa,” Zion Golan, a religious Jew, sings in Yemeni Arabic.

 

 

A song from an Israeli singer with Yemenite roots – but who has never visited the country – has become a surprise hit in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, the Economist reported on Tuesday.

Zion Golan

Zion Golan – Photo: Moti Milrod

Zion Golan’s song “Sana’a al-Yemen” is frequently heard blaring from stereos and minibus speakers. “Come with me to Sanaa,” Golan sings in Yemeni Arabic. “Sanaa, my home, you’ll like it.”

But although the lyrics refer to Sana’a as home, Golan has never been there. Continue Reading »

Growing up as a Gaza Muslim, Jewish youth celebrates his Bar Mitzvah

After escaping the abuse from her ‘family’ in Gaza, the son of a Jewish woman tricked into marrying and living with a Palestinian, now celebrates his Bar Mitzvah in Israel.

By Ari Yashar

 

An unusual bar mitzvah ceremony was held on Tuesday for the son of a Jewish woman tricked into marrying and living with an Arab man in Gaza for years. The mother and her children recently managed to escape violent abuse and restart their lives as Jews.

“I lived for years as a Muslim. Today I stand as a proud Jewish youth,” remarked the bar mitzvah boy, referred to as D., Continue Reading »

Making History: For the 1st time Israeli gov’t pays salaries to Reform Rabbis

“This is a historic & important step in the long struggle toward pluralism, religious freedom & the recognition by the State of Israel of all branches of Judaism,” said Rabbi Gilad Kariv.

 

 

JERUSALEM — Israeli government money was transferred for the first time to the Reform Movement in Israel to pay the salaries of four community Reform rabbis.

Rabbi Miri Gold. – Photo: Gil Cohen Magen/HAARETZ

The transfer of the more than $86,000 on Wednesday comes 18 months after Israel’s Supreme Court approved an arrangement to enable non-Orthodox rabbis who lead congregations to receive state salaries like their Orthodox counterparts.

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So, Bugs Bunny is Jewish?

The famous Looney Tunes cartoon animal apparently has prominent Jewish characteristics, claims British scholar, David Yehuda Stern.

And do you remember what animal was Bugs Bunny’s arch-nemesis?

 

 

Bugs Bunny, the world’s most famous rabbit, is Jewish, a renowned British cinematic historian claims.

Bugs Bunny's star in Hollywood's Walk of Fame

Bugs Bunny’s star in Hollywood’s Walk of Fame – Photo: Valentin Armianu

Revealing his findings at a lecture held recently at Britain’s University of Warwick, Israeli daily newspaper Ma’ariv reported the film expert David Yehuda Stern claimed the cartoon character exhibits tell-tale Jewish traits: He lives in a Jewish neighborhood, has a distinctly New York/Jewish accent and uses witty repartee to side-step all attempts to eliminate him. Continue Reading »

Damaged Torah scrolls from Iraqi trove buried in New York

 

Damaged Torah scrolls found amid discarded trove of more than 2,700 books & documents in a flooded Iraqi intelligence building basement were buried in a religious ceremony in a suburban New York cemetery.

By Associated Press

Torah scroll fragments found amid a trove of more than 2,700 books and documents in the flooded Iraqi intelligence building basement have been buried in a religious ceremony at a suburban New York cemetery.

Burial is method used for disposal of sacred objects deemed unfit for use under Jewish law - Photo: AP

Burial is method used for disposal of sacred objects deemed unfit for use under Jewish law – Photo: AP

“This project is somewhat reflective of the new Iraq,” said Lukman Faily, the Iraqi ambassador to the US. Continue Reading »

Oxford and Cambridge Join to Purchase Ancient Jewish Archive

2 of Europe’s most prominent universities, & oldest rivals, come together to buy an impressive trove of 1000 yr-old Jewish manuscripts, including a handwritten parchment by Maimonides.

 

 

Preeminent British universities Oxford and Cambridge raised 1.2 million pound to purchase the Lewis-Gibson genizah collection, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Text from the Cairo geniza.

Text from the Cairo geniza. – Photo: Olivier Fitoussi

The universities, two of the oldest and highest-ranking institutions for higher education in the world, decided this February to put aside their historic professional rivalry and launch their first joint fund-raising campaign. With the immense sum raised, the “ancient universities” can now purchase the collection from its current owner, the United Reform Church’s Westminster College. Continue Reading »

New luxury hotel built on 15th century Spanish synagogue opens new shul

The 600 yr-old synagogue was unearthed during the construction of a new 5-star hotel, which was opened last year.

The Hotel will also house a cultural center offering an overview of Jewish history in Spain.

By

 

 

A Spanish hotel built on the remains of a 15th century synagogue opened a new synagogue on its seventh floor last week.

Synagogue in Spain, illustration

The western wall of the Synagogue of Córdoba, Spain. – Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

The opening at the four-star Parador de Lorca hotel in Lorca, a city in the southeastern region of Murcia, was the result of negotiations between management and the Sefarad Beitenu Jewish association, which will run the shul, according to a report in the Murcia Economia newspaper. Continue Reading »

Chabad’s ‘Mitzvah Tank’ takes Chanukah into Australia’s Outback

Even if there are more deadly crocodiles than Jews in Australia’s Outback,that’s not going to stop Chabad emissaries from bring Chanukah to the few wandering Jews.

 

 

Hanukkah Down Under is arguably the most public of Jewish festivals, an eight-day blitz of festivities across the continent.

Chabad's Mitzvah Tank

The ‘Mitzvah Tank,’ a synagogue on wheels, belonging to Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia.- Photo: George Koulakis

Cherry pickers hoist rabbis high above the crowds to light giant Hanukkah menorahs in public spaces; inside the Westfield chain of shopping malls – founded by Holocaust survivor Frank Lowy – menorahs jostle alongside Christmas decorations; on the beaches and in the bays, in parks and even in parliament, Hanukkah is a hive of activity. Continue Reading »

Tug-of-war over American commitment to return Jewish archives to Iraq

 

Iraqi Jews claim materials were forcibly taken from them & should be returned to owners or descendants….not Iraq.

By Reuters

 

 

Jewish books and documents found by U.S. soldiers in the flooded headquarters of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and sent to the United States for restoration have touched off a dispute between Baghdad and Iraqi Jews who fled the country.

A Passover Haggadah from Vienna, 1930

A Passover Haggadah from Vienna, 1930 is pictured after treatment in this undated handout photo from the National Archives obtained by Reuters November 26, 2013.- Photo: Reuters

After a $3 million restoration, the collection has been put on display at the Washington-based National Archives. Continue Reading »