Among Adult Learning Initiatives, Chabad Institute Keeps on Growing

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (Mar. 2) In this tony enclave in Marin County, a San Francisco suburb once known for its hot tubs and encounter groups, 20 largely middle-aged professionals gathered one recent Monday to begin an eight-week course in The Kabbalah of Time. It was a typical group for Marin: a handful of retired professors, … Read more

A First-hand Account of Israel’s Wagner Debate

NEW YORK, July 17 (JTA) — The opportunity to hear the German State Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, perform in Jerusalem was in itself ironic. That Daniel Barenboim, the orchestra’s world-famous conductor, is an Israeli Jew made a performance in Jerusalem all the more intriguing. Moments after Shabbat ended on July 7, two friends and I hurried … Read more

Reform Jews Embracing Mitzvot – Session

Many Liberal Jews for quite some time have been rethinking earlier attitudes and approaches to the Mitzvot. In 1885, Reform rabbis in America declared as binding only the moral laws, but rejected “all such [mitzvot] as are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization.” Since that time, Reform Judaism has undergone many … Read more