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Teitzei means “to go out” in Hebrew. It is in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy 21:10 – 23:26). What many do not realize or appreciate is that the Torah is based on connecting principles. Not just that, but that the world is based on connecting principles, and that ultimately God Himself, so to speak is consistent and runs the universe consistently based on connecting principles. Thus, is something at some point seems disconnected or dissonant at any given point in time, it will be redressed and reconnected and the final consequence will be such that not matter what seemed out...

Jewish tradition emphasizes that the month of Elul is a special time of Divine good will and mercy – a time that is particularly conducive to prayer and repentance. Actually, the month is part of the preparatory process for entering into the awesome judgment of Rosh Hashana and the cleansing power of the Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. God makes Himself especially close at hand. >>SNIP<< A popular rabbinic teaching describes the reality of the Elul encounter as “the king is in the field.” The analogy is to a great king who pays a surprise visit to his subjects...

In most traditional Catholic settings we usually think of the veil as something a woman wears, and as a sign of traditional modesty and prayer. In this sense we think of it as something good and positive, though perhaps some among us are less than enthusiastic.But in the readings of Mass from this Wednesday, the veil is presented in far more ambivalent terms:As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD….the children of...

The Torah portion of Re’eh is in the Book of Deuteronomy. History, religion and literature have many examples of good and bad leaders but it gets very murky when trying to figure out good or bad spiritual leaders. As in all domains, one man’s bread is another man’s poison. One person’s hero is another person’s villain. And in today’s age of the relativity of truth, where everything is relative, even the worst leaders can somehow be accepted as great by some people. Extreme left wingers who are personally atheists can accept religious leaders they find appealing and likewise fanatical right-wingers...

You probably heard about Obama’s recent $10 million vacation to Africa.What you probably didn’t hear about was the fact that President Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton were all in Africa… At the same time. Why were they all there? Preston James PhD from Veteran’s Today says our three most recent presidents were all there to meet with their Annunaki Overlord “Marduk” in secret. This story might just be a rumor. Still, it comes from a source that has deep Intel connections and has historically been spot on regarding other incidents. First of all, I myself have very deep...

Jan's guests are a rep from the Zionist Organization of America, Joseph Sabag, and friend of Israel, Bob Naegele. Anti-Semitism is raging in the world and particularly on U.S. college campuses. It says in Psalms 102 that when the Lord builds up Zion, He shall appear in His glory. Thus, Christians need to be paying attention but most aren't. Nor are pulpits in the Western world. As last days' events play out, Israel is almost always in the center of them. The three have a lively discussion about many issues, including why Jews are usually supportive of liberal candidates who...

Israel’s deputy foreign minister has denied reports that his government is prepared to recognize the Vatican’s claim to ownership of the building that houses the site of the Last Supper. The same building in Jerusalem is revered by Jews as the site of King David’s tomb. Deputy foreign minister Zeev Elkin, who has been actively involved with negotiations over a long-awaited pact with the Holy See, told lawmakers that there has been no discussion of ceding ownership of the building to the Catholic Church. He added that rumors of an exchange—with the Vatican relinquishing other properties in exchange for control...

A video class regarding the shape of the Menorah (candelabra) used in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Shalom, Are there tests/questions for some ideas/concepts to see if they are true? Toda Raba (thank you), ∼ Jonathan Isn’t it interesting that throughout history the idea of being uncertain about truth is a common theme? Much of Greek tragedy revolves around the oracle at Delphi that gave cryptic answers that were misinterpreted. In other periods as well, we see many examples of good people who thought they were doing the ‘right thing’, when hindsight makes it clear that they were sorely mistaken in their actions. Evidently, there is no foolproof method by which to discern the truth. However, we...

In Israel you might hear a youngster protesting to his mother in Hebrew, Zeh Loh Fair. The first two words mean "This is not..." The third word means exactly what it says in English - fair. The juvenile is saying that his mother is unfair. You see, there is no word in Hebrew for the concept of fair. He had no choice other than using the English. This is because "fair" is a false concept with no reality. What does fair actually mean? That everyone should have the same housing, talent, looks, and destiny? No two people even have identical...

It has always been questionable whether Israel required a chief rabbinate. It has never represented more than a small section of the population – the majority of secular Israel have no desire for such an institution, while the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population – the most rapidly growing sector of the country’s Jewish population – do not recognize its authority. ... To put it in its simplest religious terms, the fight to determine who will be Israel’s next set of chief rabbis has been nothing short of a “chilul Hashem” – a desecration of God’s name. ... What has been going on...

Pope Francis met relatives of the worst anti-Jewish attack in Argentina’s history, and supported their efforts to discover the truth and obtain justice. They are nominating him for the Nobel Prize for Peace, for the work he did THE POPE WITH HIS FRIENDS Relatives and friends of victims of the worst attack on Jews since World War II, which took place in Buenos Aires in 1994, are nominating Pope Francis for the Nobel Prize for Peace.  The group announced this after a 90-minute private audience with him in the Vatican on July 5, during which he expressed support for their...

Magid identifies the creation of postethnic Judaism – a type of Judaism that does not take its identity from a tribal dynasty or a shared history, but from cultural values: things that are universal and suitable for everyone. Magid does not see this trend as the end of Judaism as a religion (in contrast to the Orthodox school of thought on the subject), or the end of Judaism as a culture. Not only is postethnic Judaism not rooted in tradition – it also removes itself from identifying with the historical Jewish nation. This is one step further than multiculturalism –...

In the game "Three Card Monte," the dealer moves around three cards very quickly to confuse the players. The cards are identical on the outside, but underneath only one is the sought-after queen. In his Papal directive from 2008, Pope Benedict XVI admits that it is advantageous for Catholic theology to avoid using the Tetragrammaton. The ambiguous term "Lord" makes it possible through exegetical sleight of hand to reinterpret Old Testament verses that speak about "Yehovah" (or "Yahweh") as referring to Jesus.

Although Joseph Smith said God had pronounced the completed translation of the plates as published in 1830 correct, many changes were made in later editions. There are at least 3,913 changes, and not all of them minor or merely grammatical. The LDS Church suggests that the changes are unimportant, but actual examination does not bear this out, especially when one considers that the Golden Plates were supposedly translated letter-by-letter by the power of God (H. of C. 1, pp. 54-55). Spelling or grammatical errors are one thing, but changes in doctrine and errors in consistency and common sense are quite...

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions striking down the substance of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8, Jesus’ opinion—or lack thereof—on homosexuality has received renewed attention. In a crass fundraising email running the risk of violating the Second Commandment, Mike Huckabee wrote, “My immediate thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: ‘Jesus wept,’� while social media ran rampant with memes of Catholic comedian Stephen Colbert’s words from a show in early May 2012: “And I right now would like to read to you what the Jesus said...

Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you. As you may know from most Catholic media, the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), founded by the dissident traditionalist French Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, has announced its definitive separation from the Catholic Church. I don't have to go into the details and for that I refer you to the news report. However, I will share my opinion with you: even when I prayed for a miracle, and granted the SSPX the benefit of the doubt, I never really believed they were actig in good faith. You can read my consistent doubts...

The U.S. Supreme Court announced last month that when the justices return from their summer vacations they will tackle a uniquely American church-state constitutional question they have avoided for thirty years. There is no country in the world where divine guidance is sought as consistently at the inception of governmental deliberations and ceremonial occasions as it is in the United States. The inauguration of an American president has, since 1937, always begun with an invocation by a clergyman and ended with a benediction, as does the convention of every political party. The fact that the 2012 Republican Convention began with...

I recently interviewed a 26-year-old Swedish student about her views on life. I asked her if she believed in G-d or in any religion. "No, that's silly," she replied. "Then how do you know what is right and wrong?" I asked. "My heart tells me," she responded. In a nutshell, that's the major reason for the great divide within America and between America and much of Europe. The majority of people use their heart — stirred by their eyes — to determine what is right and wrong. A minority uses their mind and/or the Bible to make that determination. Pick...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Jewish leader expressed concern to Pope Francis on Monday over attempts to make a saint of World War Two-era Pope Pius XII, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. Francis made no mention of his wartime predecessor during his talks with members of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), but the pontiff repeated the Roman Catholic Church's condemnation of anti-Semitism. "The Jewish community continues to be concerned about efforts to canonize Pope Pius XII while innumerable documents pertaining to the history of the Church and the Jewish people...

The 2012 Israeli film “Fill the Void,� now being released in the U.S., is almost unique in being about haredi Jews and directed by a member of that sector. Haredi Jews are that sector of orthodox Jews who isolate themselves as much as possible from gentile, and indeed from all non-haredi society. The English term that is used is ultra orthodox but this, I think, is misleading. What distinguishes them from non-haredi orthodox Jews (known as modern orthodox) is not greater religious observance but the aforementioned isolationism. Put it this way, a modern orthodox Jew is more likely than a...

A new film, Under the Roman Sky, starring James Cromwell as Pius XII, details the heroic efforts of Pius XII to save the Jews of Rome from the Nazis, after Rome came under Nazi occupation subsequent to the fall of Mussolini following the Allied invasion of southern Italy in 1943.Rabbi David G. Dalin, in his review of a Moral Reckoning, a tome by Daniel Goldhagen which sought to blame Catholicism for the Holocaust, details the efforts of the Pope to save the Jews of Rome:Goldhagen’s centerpiece is the outrageous allegation that Pius XII “did not lift a finger to forfend...

The mystique of Bris Milah is as old as Judaism itself. Throughout the generations, this mitzvah has been the pilot light, making sure that our spark would never be extinguished. For no matter how high the assimilation rate would rise, the importance of Bris, the seal of a covenant with God dating back to Abraham, was never questioned. Bris remained sacred to Jews of all stripes. But now, for the first time in our history, that reassuring flame has begun to flicker. "My husband and I are both Jewish, not practicing in the traditional sense, and we are debating whether...

So it seems the Pope may be considering pulling together representatives of the three major Abrahamic religions to discuss why it's not appropriate to kill others in the name of God. There's a few problems I see right off and that seems to be who do you speak to as a representative of Islam who would have any say that would resonate with the Islamic world. I could give a million reasons why something like this wouldn't work but one must never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in the cause of peace. Pray that if the Pope decides...

The aim is to articulate that God does not sanction anyone to killIsraeli government sources claim Francis is apparently thinking of calling a meeting between leaders and faithful of the world’s three biggest monotheistic religions, in Rome, to launch a message of peace, countering violence and the use of God’s name to justify hatred and terrorist acts. The sources say the Pope announced his intentions during an Audience on April 30, but there was no mention of this in the communiqué the Holy See’s issued after the Audience. President Shimon Peres of Israel “told the pope that there are people...

Wooden beams from the time of Herod’s Temple Mount in secondary use in the Al-Aqsa MosqueWhat happened to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount when the Romans destroyed Herod’s Temple in 70 C.E.? There is no report of any building left on the Temple Mount by the time the Muslims erected the iconic Dome of the Rock and the gray-domed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Did the wooden beams from Herod’s Temple Mount survive? In the May/June 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Peretz Reuven studies beams removed from the Al-Aqsa Mosque to reveal the storied history of...

Warning: this is very obscure and somewhat turgid. Only read it if you are Biblically and historically hardcore. Dear Rev. Know-it-all, Apollos is said to have “vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.� Do you know any resource where the argument that Apollos made can be found? Thanks, Judy Eizer Dear Judy, First let’s look at the passage you quote from Acts the 18th Chapter (24-28):  Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in...

Footsteps is a Jewish organization that helps Hasidic Jews wishing to leave their ultra-orthodox community become integrated members of secular society and work through the profound difficulties of leaving behind their past and, in most cases, being disowned by their families.PBS and A Journey Through NYC Religions report the varying responses of current members of the Hasidic community and individuals who have chosen a new way of life.Sol Feuerwerker is glad he left. I think thatÂ’s what surprises most people, you know, most outsiders, is that how can something this insular be happening right here in the middle of New...

WHEN is a Jew not a Jew? When he’s a Karaite. Or so says Israel’s chief rabbinate, which, after 65 years of relative harmony with an ancient Jewish sect, is reopening an old and bitter schism. In recent months, rabbis working for Israel’s ministry of religion have deemed Karaite marriages invalid, fined their butchers for claiming to be kosher, and demanded that Karaites marrying Orthodox Jewish women should convert, sometimes having to undergo tavila, or baptism. “We are already Jews,” protests Moshe Firrouz, a computer engineer who heads the Karaites’ Council of Sages. “The rabbinate is denying us our religious...

An interview with Cardinal Kurt KochOn May 14, 1948, the British occupation of Palestine ended and the State of Israel was proclaimed. On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the founding of that State, Oliver Maksan of the international Catholic charity “Aid to the Church in Need” (ACN) spoke with the president of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, Cardinal Kurt Koch, about the current status of the Vatican dialog with Judaism. The original German-language interview was posted at the Austrian Catholic news website www.kath.net. English translation by Michael J. Miller with permission of Aid to...

The Women of the Wall would have us believe that they are defending the Western Wall for everyone. Considering that after 25 years and massive public relations efforts the group can hardly gather 100 women on a good month, the assertion sounds ludicrous. Can you imagine so small a fringe group demanding to do as it pleases at the Vatican? Westminster Abbey? St.Patrick’s Cathedral in New York? Mecca? At any place of worship in the world? That’s not freedom of religion, that’s anarchy! The Women of the Wall can argue all they want that the Kotel is not a synagogue...

Israeli president Shimon Peres has officially invited Pope Francis to Israel, it has been revealed after the pair met at the Vatican. According to a statement issued by Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope would “be happy to go to the Holy Land,” although there are currently no firm plans in place for such a trip. The statement said that during a meeting on Tuesday, Peres and Pope Francis discussed the political and social situation in the Middle East and expressed hopes for a resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians so that “with courageous decisions and availability...

..it was the Christians who refined anti-Judaism into a core theological and political ideology. Christianity had a particular problem: to show that it had overcome Judaism — overcome its adherence to the laws of the “old” testament, overcome its tribal particularity with evangelical universalism. The idea of Judaism — together with the fact that there were still people in the world who chose to remain Jews — was an affront to that universalism. ...a struggle against the “Jews.” The quotation marks are especially important as his account moves beyond the medieval period, because between 1400 and 1600 Western Europe was...

Taybeh (Agenzia Fides) - A small hermitage with a chapel, built on a plot of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, near the town of Taybeh (30 kilometers north-east of Jerusalem), has been the scene in recent days of a brief occupation by some Jewish settlers, probably from the nearby settlement of Ofra. The incident occurred on Friday, April 19. The settlers were temporarily settled in the hermitage, unattended for about a year - after it was built and inhabited by a Greek-Catholic monk - and hoisted the flag of Israel. The initiative resulted in the intervention of some young Christians...

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, then in his mid-30s, spent six days confined to his Jerusalem hotel, studying the Letters of Saint Paul to the CorinthiansWhen Shimon Peres flies to Italy next week to formally ask Pope Francis I to visit Israel, the president will actually be inviting the newly elected pontiff to make his second trip to the Holy Land. Forty years ago, The Times of Israel has ascertained, Jorge Mario Bergoglio made an unfortunately timed first visit. It was early October 1973, and Bergoglio, then in his mid-30s, had been in Rome completing a course for his new job as...

The story of how a New York Jew wrestled with Christ and became CatholicGroucho Marx once said, “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have a guy like me as a member.” So began my witness testimony at the Easter Vigil on April 7, 2007, when my wife Barbara and I entered the Catholic Church. For a New York Jew, who’d detested the name “Jesus” for as long as he could remember, to be standing before a packed congregation at Sacred Heart Church in Prescott, Arizona, having to recount in three minutes how he got there—well, you...

Poll shows anti-Jewish sentiment among youth in Poland's capital. 44% don't want a Jewish neighbor.Anti-Semitism is high among teenagers in the Polish capital, according to an opinion survey conducted in the run-up to Friday's 70th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, the AFP news agency reports. The poll of students from 20 Warsaw high schools, published Tuesday, found that 44 percent of respondents said they would be unhappy to have a Jewish neighbor. In the survey of 1,250 students commissioned by the Jewish Community of Warsaw, the Homo Homini polling institute also found that two in five said they would...

Pope Francis does not have an extensive bibliography. To understand his thinking, media outlets since his election have turned repeatedly to Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra (On Heaven and Earth) -- a 2010 book he co-authored as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio with Rabbi Abraham Skorka, an Argentine biophysicist and rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires.

The lighting of the candles, the pouring of the wine, the breaking of the matzo, the knowledge that we are released from bondage and the joyful laughter of friends sharing a potluck meal. All of these elements were present when First Presbyterian Church at 2101 Utica celebrated a Passover Seder Thursday night.A traditional Jewish meal served on Passover, the Seder uses elements of the meal to remember and celebrate the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, breaking the bonds of slavery. Pastor David Hawkins believes that all of us are captives to something. “We’re captives to fear, we’re captive to...

A crowd of at least 30 Muslims hurled rocks at Jews touring the Temple Mount on the Passover holiday. Israel National News reported, via Religion of Peace: Once again, extremist Muslims tried but failed to prevent Jews from accessing the holiest site in the Jewish faith, with the threat of attacks. Dozens of Arab teens hurled rocks Sunday morning at groups of Jews who were touring the Temple Mount. The site was open on the eve of the final day of the Passover holiday in the morning from 7:30 a.m to 11:00 a.m and scheduled to reopen from 1:00 p.m....

David & the Head of Goliath of Gath In the Gospels we read that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins at a place called "Golgotha." “And they came to the place that is called Golgotha, which is the place of skull.� (Matthew 27:33) So Golgotha is the "place of the skull." But if you've ever studied Hebrew, you may have realized a difficulty with the Bible's claim. Golgotha doesn't mean anything close to "skull" in Hebrew, Aramaic, or any other language. It's a big problem. So we have to solve this puzzle. When we do solve it,...

COME TO ME LET GO AND BE FREE Just let go of the past and do not look back as Lot's wife for My mercies are new every morning. Take my hand I will show you My will for today and it is here you allow Me to free you of "all" the storms that were never yours , follow after Me for how can two walk together unless they agree . Let My will fulfill all your dreams and endevours effort free for My spirit is your guide and strength where My joy is constant and eternal and find...

Last week, Pope Francis received a collection of world religious leaders in his first ecumenical and interreligious event. His address to them contained diplomatic niceties and specific expressions of good will aimed at Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims.His remarks to the latter recognized that Muslims “worship the one living and merciful God, and call upon him in prayer.” In this he echoed the 1964 dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, which gave a nod to “the Mohammedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge...

Todd and I and our family send our best wishes this evening as Jewish people around the world celebrate Passover, commemorating their deliverance from bondage and their Exodus to the Land of Israel. This timeless and beautiful story reminds us of the universal human aspiration for freedom and that the Almighty hears the cries of a suffering people and fulfills His promises. Chag kasher V'Sameach. Happy Passover. And next year in Jerusalem. And yesterday, Palm Sunday, was the beginning of the holiest of weeks for Christians. During this time, we honor the sacrifice of Jesus, reflect on amazing grace, and...

YouTube can certainly be an embarrassment of riches. Just last night I found these two re-enactments of the Seder shel Pesach: one Sefaradi, and one Temani (Yemenite). For the Sefaradi seder, click here. For the Temani seder, click here. Please note that these are re-enactments, as direct operation of electrical equipment is forbidden on yom tov. I'm sure there's much more available for viewing, but this should hold all interested FReepers for now. Wishing all a Pesach kasher vesameach!

One of the first official acts of the newly installed Pope Francis was to reach out to the Jewish community of Rome, as his predecessor Pope Benedict had done, and he is being greeted warmly by many Jewish leaders worldwide. For most of the last 1,500 years, though, Catholic-Jewish relations have not been so warm. In fact, there was a time when the Catholic Church was rocked with a scandal: It was alleged that the Pope himself was Jewish. But that was almost 1,000 years ago, and the first order of business is to note how well received Pope Francis...

Jewish? Not, but know a Jew? Please watch and PLEASE SHARE this very warm, uplifting 5-minute presentation that includes musical accompaniment (and translation). It's about the authentic -- and eternal -- message of Passover. Any Jew and, for that matter, believing Christian will be thankful that you did. GUARANTEED!WE CAN MAKE THIS GO VIRAL! It deserves to!

The selection of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to be the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church is being seen as a move that will continue to cement Catholic-Jewish relations and perhaps end the debate over the ChurchÂ’s actions during World War II. Bergoglio, 76, who took the name Francis and is the first Jesuit ever to be chosen pope, has publicly called for the opening of the Vatican archives to learn the true role Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust. There have been allegations that Pope Pius XII, who is on track to be canonized by the...

Do you truly know me ? I breathed life into your well ?! So now it springs up that all lies I may dispell, I know you for even your name is in my hand , I have come into your life that through you I may take back my land , I call you Apostle , Priest and Friend , I will never forsake you for in you I Am The Beginning and the End , But your path and life are eternally bound and found in me , For I AM your beginning , your Creator and your...

Like good wine that improves with age, let us give the youth the wisdom of our lives.� –Pope Francis, on old age, speaking to the assembled cardinals of the Church on March 15, 2013, two days after his election to the throne of PeterPope Francis gave a remarkable reflection today on old age. But before getting to that, first two remarkable videos, courtesy of Rome Reports:1. Pope Francis receives the keys of the papal apartment On Thursday evening, March 14 — 24 hours ago — Pope Francis received the keys to the papal apartments. So the apartments are open again.Cardinal...