Rabbi Joseph J. Zaltzman, senior rabbi, Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario, says the blessing as he affixes a <a href=”http://www.mezuzahmaster.com”>mezuzah</a> to the doorpost at York Centre MP Mark Adler’s constituency office in Toronto last week. Adler said he had fulfilled the mitzvah of having a mezuzah placed on the doorpost of his Ottawa office […]
The Talmud Gittin 45b states that Sifrei Torah, tefillin and mezuzah scrolls are considered kosher only when written by certain select groups of specially trained scribes. Women, as a category, are not mentioned to be among them. However, in 2003, Canadian born Aviel Barclay became the world’s first known ‘traditionally’ trained female sofer. Since […]
A new Jewish museum is scheduled to open this Friday in Warsaw, Poland. It will be taking place on the 70th anniversary of the ill-fated ghetto uprising where a few hundred heroic Jews took up arms against the occupying Germans. Poland was home to a thriving Jewish presence for over one thousand years. A mezuzah […]
For the second time in less than a month, Muslims tore out a Mezuzah from a door at the sacred and hotly contested Cave of Machpelah, the holy resting place of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs. The vandalism took place at a time when the cave was open only to Muslims. It was documented by […]
Scott Stringer, Manhattan’s Borough President and candidate for City Comptroller, affixed a mezuzah, a Jewish symbol of protection, to the door of his campaign headquarters this week, perhaps seeking help from a higher power in his campaign battle against former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer. In a photo submitted to The Algemeiner, Stringer, who is […]
Last summer I went traveling along the West coast. I mainly went around Los Angeles and San Diego. It was a great experience. Since I love nature I spent a lot of my time hiking and camping out in many beautiful places. Before I began my summer travels, as I was packing, I was thinking […]
We all know that in hard times, religious rituals offer comfort and community. And as Israelis feel increasingly fearful and alone as the wave of terror shows no signs of abating, it should come as no surprise that there is an uptick in those turning to Jewish practice to give them the strength to get […]
When I first started out at Vassar college, I kept hearing how anti-Semitic they were. My mom was especially concerned and spent a lot of time reading about the Antisemitism at Vassar and then some time worrying about it. My mom was worried about how I’d be able to keep my Jewish identity and traditions […]
It is not an uncommon occurrence that the details of objects located in the spaces we most frequently venture, and likewise, of items we use most often, remain unnoticed by our eyes. Obviously, one could not properly appreciate the extent of this truth until it be purposely brought to his or her attention. Today, I […]
It is not uncommon that a person should find oneself so absorbed in a specific activity; be it working on a project, reading a thrilling novel, or even playing a game, that he or she entirely loses track of the swiftly ticking clock. One would sit down to tackle a task at hand and accordingly […]