Tag: jewish

According to Jewish Virtual Library, the world contains roughly 13.7 million Jews. An estimated 5.4 million of these live in the United States, making up just 1.74 percent of the country’s population. Even in the nation with the second-largest Jewish population (after Israel), we are a small minority. In light of this, the task of engaging millennials—- people who are currently 13 to 30 years old — can appear crucial to the very survival of Judaism.

The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins this evening (Sept. 4), marking the start of the High Holy Days (also called the “days of Awe”). Here are 10 things to know about this 10-day period.

The weeks leading up to the Jewish High Holy Days are supposed to be marked by self-questioning: What failings must I atone for, and to whom must I apologize?

A group of artists, writers and animators are hoping a cartoon goat may help.

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. (RNS) Friends of Yiddish has no agenda. No textbooks. No Yiddish grammar rules.

Its members gather every month at the B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom synagogue to speak a language stamped in their hearts and memories.

A great many Jews, religious and secular alike, feel inspired by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam: our collective duty to help heal the world. Like many other progressive concepts, tikkun olam can easily be caricatured as a “nice” thing to do rather than a good thing. Awww, those B’nai Mitzvah students are picking up litter in the park — isn’t that nice! In this formulation, “nice” is code for gestural, temporary and ultimately ineffectual.

Most people have heard of Hanukkah and Passover and maybe Yom Kippur — the Jewish Day of Atonement. But Tisha B’Av?

Translated as the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, it counts as one of the most important days on the Jewish calendar.