Religious Life

Self-driving cars. Drip irrigation. Missile defense. Milk?

By day, Liora Brosbe is the family engagement officer for the Jewish Federation of the East Bay in Berkeley, California, where she reaches out to the community with a menu of opportunities for “connecting to Jewish life and each other.”

Parshat Emor outlines the “fixed times” of the year – the sacred festivals of the Jewish people. It instructs us to count the seven weeks of seven days between Pesach and Shavuot. This is the Counting of the Omer, the season in which we currently find ourselves.

When you’re the only full-time rabbi in a relatively small and isolated Jewish community – like that found on the Asian island of Taiwan – you’re expected to do much more than lead religious services.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate in the French presidential elections, said she would ban halal slaughter of animals if she is elected, along with any other method of ritual slaughter without stunning.

In today’s climate, now is the time to reach out to other communities to share our cultures and learn about different beliefs. A little over a month ago, my mom and I were invited to an interfaith dinner at a local mosque, where we were introduced to the Islamic faith, food and what a service looked like. They had a speaker there who instead of talking about differences, talked about the similarities between the Abrahamic religions. It was a very eye-opening experience and I wanted to share it with my youth group, BITY.

As I study Torah, I sometimes imagine myself a time traveler, trying to glean some awareness of the lives of my Israelite ancestors without the perspective of my own contemporary view of the world. This week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, provides me with a challenging journey through time.

In this week’s Torah portion of Shemini, the Torah relates that on the inaugural day of the Mishkan (tabernacle), the traveling temporary home the Jewish people built for G-d in the desert, the two older sons of Aharon the high priest, Nadav and Avihu, brought an offering for G-d. The only problem is that it was not requested of them and therefore, the Torah calls it foreign fire. Their punishment: being consumed by a heavenly fire. What could be wrong with wanting to become closer to G-d through bringing a sacrifice?

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NEW YORK — The restaurants are packed on the wide boulevard in the Queens borough of this city known as the Bukharian Broadway.

Gluten-free matzah might sound like a bad joke – after all, regular unleavened bread tastes pretty cardboard-like already.

When Rabbi Robert Kravitz pulled off his tie at the Latino-Jewish Seder on March 21, he said it was symbolic of seeking freedom. Wearing a tie, he said, is a custom that feels confining and men do it to themselves out of social convention. So he liberated himself of the tie and continued leading the seder, reading from the “Freedom Celebration Haggadah” created for this annual event.

Two weeks before Passover, Rabbis Elana Kanter and Michael Wasserman of The New Shul were leading a model seder – a very special one, using a brightly colored, easy-to-hold Haggadah with visual images.

Passover

Temple Beth Shalom in Sun City is inviting the women of the community to a Women’s Interactive Seder, “to share a Passover experience with a feminine twist,” organizers say.

Vayikra, Leviticus 1:1-5:26

From the wizardry of Harry Potter that echoes with Passover’s themes to a cartoon frog who wisecracks his way through the seder, this year’s new crop of Passover books for kids offers something for all ages and interests.

Rabbi Pinchas Allouche will present "Passover on Fire! An Instructional Demo Seder" 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.

I love serving light foods that are naturally kosher for Passover. With so much matzah, vegetable and fish dishes are often a welcome addition in my home.

Vayakhel-Pekudei, Exodus 35:1-40:38

Ki Tisa, Exodus: 30:11-34:35

How Purim is a call to leadership

With costumes, spiels and lots of drinking, Purim is one of Judaism’s most raucous holidays. You might know about beautiful Esther thwarting evil Haman’s plans, the custom of getting drunk and what hamantaschen are. But we’re guessing there’s a few things about Purim, which this year starts at sundown March 11, that might surprise you.

In the Book of Esther’s Chapter 4, verse 14, Mordechai encourages his niece, Queen Esther, to use her influence with King Ahasuerus.

VOSJCC brings back communitywide Purim carnival: The Valley of the Sun JCC is bringing back its communitywide Purim carnival, which will take place 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, March 12 on the soccer fields of the JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.