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It may be over 5000 years old, but Judaism is still proving popular. Get your Jewish religious fix here and discover more about living life as a Jew. |
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24th November 2007 |
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| Midrash |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Midrash is the medium for discussing theology in Judaism rather than using rational philosophy." Find out more about what Rabbi Rosen has to say. |
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10th November 2007 |
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| Faith schools |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "In principle, as a confirmed believer in separating state from religion, I do not believe states should support religious or denominational schools directly." Find out more. |
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3rd November 2007 |
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| Multiculturalism |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Multiculturalism is under attack. There is indeed heightened racial and communal tension in Europe. But is it multiculturalism’s fault?" Find out more. |
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27th October 2007 |
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| Abraham |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Every time I read the Biblical narratives about Abraham I am reminded of the differences between his day and ours. And the fact is that I usually think the comparison favours his." |
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20th October 2007 |
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| Middle Eastern books |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "My summer reading included some fascinating contrasts. It started with Amos Oz. I have to confess I am so far removed from secular Jewish angst that I have tended to steer clear of secular Israeli literature." |
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13th October 2007 |
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| Hygiene |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "In my callow youth I used to think it absurd to have, as Jewish law requires, to wash and make a blessing every time I went to the toilet." Find out more. |
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6th October 2007 |
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| Creationism |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Science is one kind of process and religion is another and the two are neither mutually exclusive nor necessarily contradictory but ideally complementary." Find out more. |
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29th September 2007 |
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| Succot |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "We who are part of a minority within a minority, ‘religious’ Jews of various hues and degrees, are in the midst of a fascinating, exhausting, but, for me at any rate, uplifting and exciting month." |
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22nd September 2007 |
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| Atonement |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "For all its failings, or manifest limitations, does not religion offer us a vision of something more, even if it is a measure too far for us?" Find out more. |
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8th September 2007 |
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| Sabbatical |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "As 5767 ends and we start 5768 we will enter another Sabbatical, the Seventh Year Release referred to in the Bible (Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15) called Sheviit or Shmita." Find out more. |
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1st September 2007 |
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| Song |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Recently the major Charedi rabbis of Israel announced a ban on mixed concerts, even when the sexes are seating separately and the performers themselves are very, very kosher." Find out more. |
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25th August 2007 |
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| Yeshivas and money |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes of the state of some yeshivas. "I am pretty sure the money goes to the private accounts of the nepotistic families which own and run these institutions." Find out more. |
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18th August 2007 |
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| Covering your hair |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Some fifty years ago it was unusual, in the west, to find an Orthodox rabbi’s wife who covered her hair outside of a synagogue. Nowadays, hair covering for women is almost the definition of Orthodoxy." Find out more. |
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11th August 2007 |
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| Abuse is never justified |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "If there are still some Jewish men whose mindset is barbaric, it is not the Bible to blame or Jewish law, but a clear deficiency in human sentiment." |
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28th July 2007 |
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| Jews talk |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "We all know Jews love talking, and there’s no better place to talk till you drop than a conference. Israel has been organising conferences forever. It’s not just for tourist bucks." Find out more. |
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21st July 2007 |
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| Immigration |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Both Britain and the US are currently struggling with the issue of immigration. A lot of what can be said of Jewish immigration into Britain also applies to Jewish immigration into the US." |
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14th July 2007 |
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| On fasting |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Why is it that religions, all religions, seem to be associated with self-denial, fasting and smelling badly? It's one of the least appealing aspects, this holier-than-thou." Find out more. |
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30th June 2007 |
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| Education in Israel |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "There are internal challenges to Israel’s existence nearly as pressing as the external ones. The tension and gulf between the secular and the religious is one of them. One of the battlegrounds is Education." |
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16th June 2007 |
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| Shimon Peres |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I am pleased that Shimon Peres is to be the president of Israel. Apart from his unfortunate pronunciation of the ‘piss process’, he is an articulate and elegant spokesman for Israel’s cause." |
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9th June 2007 |
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| Blood libels |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "It will come as no surprise that the Blood Libel is making a big comeback in the Muslim world and is repeated and exaggerated on state sponsored television throughout that culturally benighted part of our planet." |
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2nd June 2007 |
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19th May 2007 |
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| Revelation |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "The biblical harvest festival of Shavuot, which comes round again this week, is also the anniversary of the Sinai Covenant which is the defining moment of Judaism as a religious and civil system." |
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12th May 2007 |
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| Ghetto life |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I am always surprised that whenever I am critical, some of my readers assume that I am depressed. So let me admit that this piece is indeed influenced by spending time in one of the world’s great ghettos, Antwerp." |
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5th May 2007 |
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| Strange folk |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "How is it possible to love all Jews let alone all human beings even if we are all precious in the eyes of God and He loves us all?" |
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28th April 2007 |
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| Why? |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "A principle of all Western religions is ‘Benevolence’, that God cares and is involved in human life, rewards the good and punishes the bad. But most of us just don’t see it working that way." |
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21st April 2007 |
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| Hatikvah |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes of the Israeli National Anthem: "If we insist on an anthem, let it be one that incorporates all its citizens. It’s not a text that is hallowed by religion or tradition". |
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14th April 2007 |
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| Am I a believer? |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Declaring a belief in God does keep ones mind and senses open to more possibilities than if it is shut out completely. It leaves the door open. And this is where mysticism comes in useful." |
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7th April 2007 |
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| Does prison work? |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Sometimes even if a solution is inadequate, it may still be better than the alternative. If prison, awful as it is, does in fact keep violent criminals off our streets then it is doing a valuable job." |
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31st March 2007 |
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| Slavery |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I find it difficult to read Biblical texts that seem to condone slavery. There were Jewish slaves who served limited terms, usually to pay off debts, but remained citizens bound by all Jewish Laws." |
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24th March 2007 |
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| Sick visiting |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "From my experience I have to say that simple as it sounds, being kind is one of the hardest challenges we humans face." Find out more. |
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17th March 2007 |
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| Who loves us? |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "So the BBC World Service took a poll and discovered that more people think Israel is a danger to the world than any other place! Forgive me for an ironic laugh!"
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10th March 2007 |
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| Looking back |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "It’s part of our tradition to remember, our forefathers, our history, and our enemies." |
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3rd March 2007 |
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| Poor him |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "The story of Purim is said to have happened some 2,500 years ago in the Persian Empire. Historians will argue as to whether the story of Mordechai and Esther is historically accurate." |
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24th February 2007 |
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| Women, its time to fight! |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "The suffragettes fought for the vote. They got it. Now I believe Jewish women must fight to the point of disobedience for fair and equal halachic treatment." |
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17th February 2007 |
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| Not in my name! |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "This month so many disparate groups and individuals have been claiming to speak for Jews or for those Jews who believe their voices are not heard. Can anyone speak for the Jews?" |
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10th February 2007 |
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| In praise of my mother |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "In a piece I wrote several weeks ago, I mentioned my mother. And one of my readers wrote to me that this was the first time I had. I write often about my father but not about my mother." Find out more. |
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3rd February 2007 |
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| Holocaust days |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I have not been in favour of Holocaust Days any more than I am of making Holocaust denial a crime. Indeed there are too many conflicting Jewish Holocaust memorial days of one kind or another and sometimes less is more." |
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27th January 2007 |
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| Jewish mothers |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "Jewish mothers tend to get a bad press. It’s not just Philip Roth and Portnoy’s Complaint. It’s a much wider issue. In Western literature, the Jewish Mother has become an object of scorn, even worse than the dreaded Mother in Law." |
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20th January 2007 |
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| Freedom writers |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I love idealists, even the crazy ones, just so long as they don’t harm other people and that’s getting rarer nowadays. I’ve spent most of my life struggling for my ideals and dreams." |
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13th January 2007 |
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| Thank goodness for Bar Ilan |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "it is important to show that Orthodoxy is not monolithic or monochromatic. And it this tradition that Bar Ilan represents." Find out more. |
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6th January 2007 |
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| Apocalypto |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I confess I went to see the film ‘Apocalypto.’ Why? The Talmud is rather keen on knowing what it is that one wishes to combat and even more keen on knowing how to answer one's critics." |
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30th December 2006 |
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| Get out of Iraq |
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| Rabbi Jeremy Rosen writes: "I say to Blair and Bush, you went in and removed the most odious of dictators and his pathological sons. You tried your best to give the Iraqis a chance to run their own affairs. It didn’t work. Get out!" |
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23rd December 2006 |
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