http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php en mforr@alteryourview.com Copyright 2009 2009-11-07T05:00:43+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/whats_an_aufruf/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/whats_an_aufruf/#When:05:00:04Z It may resemble the kind of sound a dog emits when he or she wants to get attention. But the aufruf — which is Yiddish for the phrase “calling up” — is no joking matter but a sacred obligation and custom for a groom. The aufruf requires the prospective chatan (groom) to be called up to the Torah… Judaism 101 2009-01-09T05:00:04+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/four_holy_cities/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/four_holy_cities/#When:05:00:19Z We all know that Jerusalem is Judaism’s holiest city. It is the site of where the ancient great Temples stood. Here, on the Temple Mount, according to tradition, Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac. Today, one of its borders is the Western Wall, an outer wall of the Second Temple complex. Many Jews flock there for prayer and inspiration. Did… Judaism 101 2008-12-26T05:00:19+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/holy_bathroom/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/holy_bathroom/#When:05:00:32Z Did you know that observant Jews say a blessing after using the restroom? This blessing is called “Asher Yatzar,” which translates to “Who Formed.” The blessing refers to the complexity of the human body (think of all the organs that need to work for that 30 seconds of relief), and then thanks God for creating our body and… Judaism 101 2008-12-19T05:00:32+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/songs_of_blue_and_white/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/songs_of_blue_and_white/#When:05:00:35Z The Israeli flag hangs in most synagogues and Jewish day schools. We wave it on Israel Independence Day and use its blue-and-white color scheme on many of our Jewish decorations. The flag, inspired by the tallit (or prayer shawl), consists of two horizontal blue stripes on the top and bottom of a white background with a Star of… Judaism 101 2008-12-12T05:00:35+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_a_jew/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_a_jew/#When:05:00:46Z According to halachah or Jewish law, any child born to a Jewish mother is a Jew; the father’s religion or practices are irrelevant to the child’s status. The child is considered Jewish regardless of how he or she is raised or continues to practice. In fact, under Jewish law one need attend Hebrew school or even have a… Judaism 101 2008-12-05T05:00:46+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/what_can_we_learn_from_toldot/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/what_can_we_learn_from_toldot/#When:03:58:59Z This week when we go to synagogue we will read the Torah portion Toldot. A highlight of the portion is when Rebecca, who has waited 20 years to conceive, gives birth to Jacob and Esau. Jacob is described as a simple man (Breishit 25:27), which commentators explain means he conducted himself simply with others, careful not to trick… Judaism 101 2008-11-28T03:58:59+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/sarahs_amazing_life/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/sarahs_amazing_life/#When:04:00:11Z This week we read the Torah portion Chayei Sarah (“The Life of Sarah”), which gains its title because at the beginning of the portion we learn that Sarah has died. We understand from various midrashim (interpretative commentaries) that Sarah died at the same time Abraham was carrying out the Akeidah, near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac. The late Rabbi… Judaism 101 2008-11-21T04:00:11+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/abraham_the_ultimate_host/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/abraham_the_ultimate_host/#When:04:00:22Z This week we read Parshat Vayera (Bereshit 18-22). In the beginning of the selection, Abraham (or Avraham) is visited by three travelers (angels, we learn later). When he sees them approaching, he summons his wife, Sarah, to prepare cakes and offers them pastries with bread and his best calf meat. In greeting them, he tells the men he… Judaism 101 2008-11-14T04:00:22+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/whats_with_tzitzit/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/whats_with_tzitzit/#When:04:00:23Z Many observant male Jews wear tzitzit –– the white fringes often seen hanging out over their pants — as a reminder of the Torah’s commandments. We learn this from Numbers 15:37-41, which is also the third paragraph of the Shema. One only needs tzitzit attached to four-cornered garments, which were traditional garb in biblical times. Today, since most… Judaism 101 2008-11-07T04:00:23+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_ehud_olmert/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_ehud_olmert/#When:04:00:34Z Ehud Olmert is Israel’s outgoing prime minister. Having faced multiple corruption investigations, Mr. Olmert this past August announced that he would resign as head of the Kadimah Party and thus as prime minister. While vice prime minister in late 2005, he had helped Ariel Sharon form Kadimah. Mr. Olmert took the top job after Mr. Sharon fell into… Judaism 101 2008-10-31T04:00:34+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_ehud_barak/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_ehud_barak/#When:04:00:14Z Ehud Barak, now Israel’s defense minister and a past prime minister (1999-2001), is the most decorated soldier ever to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. He was the youngest soldier to receive the rank of general. When he became prime minister, he decided to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and to meet with Palestinian Authority head Yasser Arafat… Judaism 101 2008-10-24T04:00:14+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_binyamin_netanyahu/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_binyamin_netanyahu/#When:04:00:25Z Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is considered one of Israel’s most articulate political figures, particularly in English; he was educated both in Israel and the United States. In the 1980s, he served as an Israeli Embassy spokesman in Washington, D.C. In 1988, he entered the Knesset with the Likud; he was a deputy foreign minister from 1990-1991, during Operation… Judaism 101 2008-10-17T04:00:25+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_shimon_peres/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_shimon_peres/#When:04:00:35Z Shimon Peres has had one of the longest political careers of any Israeli politician. He immigrated to Israel from Poland at age 11. While he took the Hagannah’s defense training, he never actively served in the military. Yet in 1953, at 29, he became director general of the Israeli Defense Ministry. He is widely acknowledged to have… Judaism 101 2008-10-10T04:00:35+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_ariel_sharon/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_ariel_sharon/#When:04:38:45Z Ariel Sharon is one of Israel’s most important military and political figures. He was wounded in the historic 1948 Battle of Latrun during the War of Independence. In the 1950s, he formed an elite commando unit to successfully stop fedayeen terror attacks from the Egyptian border. Slowly rising through the Israel Defense Forces, he eventually became a high-ranking… Judaism 101 2008-10-03T04:38:45+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_yitzhak_shamir/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_is_yitzhak_shamir/#When:04:20:54Z Even though Yitzhak Shamir had the second longest tenure as prime minister of any Israel politician — only less than David Ben-Gurion — he is not often remembered as a dominant political figure. Mr. Shamir, now 92, became prime minister following Menachem Begin’s sudden retirement in 1983. He was considered more “hawkish” or to the right, unwilling… Judaism 101 2008-09-26T04:20:54+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_was_menachem_begin/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_was_menachem_begin/#When:04:06:03Z When Menachem Begin became Prime Minister of Israel in 1977, it represented one of the biggest political comebacks in Israel’s history. The disciple of Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky, the leader of the Revisionist Zionists, Begin had in the 1940s become leader of the “Irgun Zvai Le’umi” National Military Organization (known by the initials of its Hebrew name as… Judaism 101 2008-09-19T04:06:03+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_was_yitzhak_rabin/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/who_was_yitzhak_rabin/#When:04:00:10Z Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995) was a complex Israeli leader. On the one hand, he was a top commander in the Palmach, the commando unit of the pre-state militia, and played an important role in the 1948 War of Independence. He ended his military tenure at Israel Defense Force as chief of staff from 1964-1968. But while he was a… Judaism 101 2008-09-12T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/israels_leaders_ben_gurion/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/israels_leaders_ben_gurion/#When:04:38:19Z First in a 10-part series. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced in August that he will not re-run for the top position of his political party, Kadima. Both Tzippi Livni and Shaul Mofaz are considered contenders for the position. But who will be the next Prime Minister? Some say rather than a member of Kadima, perhaps Likud’s Binyamin… Judaism 101 2008-09-05T04:38:19+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/can_you_eat_a_reptile/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/can_you_eat_a_reptile/#When:04:15:27Z Sometimes it is hard to know which animals you can eat and which you can’t when you are first trying to keep kosher. God denotes in the Torah what is kosher and what is not. When talking about mammals, Jews can eat any animal that has split hooves and chews its own cud, like a sheep, cow, goat… Judaism 101 2008-08-29T04:15:27+00:00 http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/kosher_what_is_it/ http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/judaism_101/jt/judaism_101/kosher_what_is_it/#When:04:17:42Z Traditional Jews keep kosher. The laws of kashrut begin in the Torah. God instructs: Do not “boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21). God gives signs to determine if an animal is kosher or not.  All kosher animals must have split hooves and chew their own cuds. Having just… Judaism 101 2008-08-22T04:17:42+00:00