Haaretz reporter sets up fake synagogue at publication's headquarters, contacts Religious Services Ministry, and within hours receives permit. Now all that remains is for him to learn to blow the shofar
Much of today's traditions originated with Babylonian worship, and you have to read this to believe how a calf's head morphed into gefilte fish.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jews will have to forego the annual pilgrimage, mayor says
Only 2 percent of Israeli Jews say they conduct any form of soul-searching or resolution-making on December 31, but about a third of young adults will be out celebrating
As far as the politicians are concerned, there really isn’t a place for anyone secular, free or — God forbid — atheist.
The rabbis had to reinvent Judaic practices after the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, and it seems they invented the Jewish New Year out of thin air.
A failed sermon is like a placid lake - pleasant, but static. A successful sermon is a ripple in still water, combining Jewish textual tradition with real-world issues.
Facebook video calls for more recruits to the cause of militants armed with shofars, protesting prison sentences and the management of federal land.
Number of immigrants to Israel grew 35% in 5775.
For atheists and believers alike, the High Holy Days are a time to engage honestly with life.
Sometimes, disaster is only averted by arbitrariness. On Rosh Hashanah, the story of Akeida lends insight into how we can cope with this realization.
From the emigration to America to Israeli satire, the faded tradition of Rosh Hashanah cards is more exciting than you think. Examples are on display at the Israel Museum.
While truth-tellers are often rejected in their lifetimes, only to be acknowledged posthumously, it seems that, this summer, Americans and Arab states alike have begun facing some of the ugliness we've been shunning.
A primer to help the different kinds of diabetes patients ring in a healthy Jewish New Year.
A club spokesperson said the tweet and comments were removed from the club's official account after it was inundated with offensive responses.
The biggest marvel is how Iron Age Jews managed to adjust the lunar calendar to the solar one.
How predictable is life in Israel? So predictable that we've already captured some of the leading stories from the next 12 months.
Synagogue hopes that those who take up the offer will join or affiliate with another shul.
Congregants are polarized about the Gaza conflict, and rabbis across the country are unsure whether and how to address Israel in their High Holy Day sermons, The N.Y. Times reports.
How much of what we saw and heard this summer on the streets of Paris or Berlin was really about Gaza anyway?
They're produced by everyone from a shul worker in the U.S. Midwest to the wise guys (and women) at Israel's version of MIT. And they're all designed to push you into 5775 in good spirit.
A practical guide to elevating our souls throughout the sabbatical year.
'He spoke about the complexities and dangers of the Middle East and the challenges facing the world,' said William Gershon, one of 900 rabbis who called in.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict isn't the biggest crisis in American Jewish life. Illiteracy about Judaism is.
As the Jewish year comes to a close, Haaretz presents a selection of the outstanding writers and op-eds of the last 12 months, addressing issues from the Gaza conflict to debates within the Jewish world, from Israel to the future of Zionism.
I made aliyah this summer to an Israel that - like me - is somewhat disoriented and unclear of its future. This discordance is the perfect backdrop for both me and my new home to recreate ourselves in the new Jewish year.
Every seven years the land is supposed to rest. As this tended to be onerous, the rabbis came up with inventive ways to circumvent the command.
What would it take to make the synagogues of today appeal to the Jewish leaders of tomorrow?
We must all question how justified the massive death count was of innocents in Gaza, whatever the extenuating circumstances. We must investigate our actions, not to save face but so we can face ourselves.
Our Father, we have sinned against you and against our own selves, not least by despising our fellow man.