A chair in Jewish studies has been reconstituted at the Stanford University School of Education, where students pursue doctoral culture, history, language, and all components of the Jewish faith of religion is a salient feature. Only one point out that involves the allocation of $ 12,000,000 dollars. The San Francisco-based Jim Joseph Foundation plays in general education: camps, youth groups, Jewish service learning and travel in Israel. Students will learn the religion of the Jewish people in America. This article is part of Jim Joseph Foundation, to provide the American Jewish community with education.
The aim of this chair is the intersection of Jewish studies and education and training that students will be able to analyze the impact that the role of Jewish education in K-12 education and in general ‘intersection of religion and education. We hope (and expectation) that this initiative is only the beginning of an academic initiative for exploring the intersection between religion and education in the broadest sense – not only for the Jewish context. The role of religion in education, especially K-12 education be understood in a broader and more critical as more children around the world are educated in religious institutions and schools in the U.S. per day.
12 million Chair in Jewish studies at Stanford University reconstituted by Peter Menkin
July 29th, 2010Jewish Coffee Cake
July 24th, 2010Now there’s a coffee cake to make you want no other coffee cake, and once the preparation of this coffee cake and get a real idea of working on this cake can be very creative and use some different jams, jellies, fruit and so on.
Always remember that there is much you can do with a recipe, not to exceed the parameters of the original recipe.
I made this recipe hundreds of times and still can not believe how well it goes. All ingredients should be at room temperature.
Pound ¼ cup sugar 2 teaspoons butter1 vanilla8 eggs1 ounce cups sour cream2 flour1-teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon baking powder
butter and sugar then add eggs one at a time and mix remaining ingredients together slowly.
In another bowl mix 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup chopped walnuts and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to taste and mix together.
Using a pipe 3inch x 10 inch pan, make sure your pan is well greased and floured, place some cake mixture on the bottom and then a little sugar, nuts and cinnamon mixture and repeat this procedure until have all the cake mix into the pan and the top layer is a mixture of cinnamon.
Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a peak located in the center of the cake comes out clean, cool and enjoy, I like my warm with raspberry jam on it.
Baxter Memorial Library (1889) – 1927 plaque detail
July 20th, 2010
Image taken on 2007-10-05 14:11:42 by origamidon.
Divine Harmony, Jewish Spiritual Living and the Present Moment
July 15th, 2010When it comes to Judaism, I always knew there was a strong emphasis on the concept of ethics. To be a good person was very important. Since then he realized that there were some Jews who seemed to be very pious and followed the commandments, the mitzvot, very religious indeed. He also knew that those same people are not necessarily loyal in their daily relationships with others, but worked hard to keep the commandments.
There must be more Jewish rituals and prayer. I liked the idea to practice good ethical behavior. I’ve always preferred to be able to sleep at night and in most cases do my best to do right. I like the concept of improvement and with the right motivation, I can always be motivated to improve.
Based on extensive reading has been exposed to the notion of ethics associated with the concept of being “holy.” Well, for me, being a saint is not a great motivator. Moreover, there was the Jewish concept of Yirah, or the fear of God, now, the negative motivation has never been my forte. You know what I mean. “Do this, or get shot in the head” No, I prefer something a little “more positive and beneficial for reasons that resonate with me. Certainly Jewish spiritual life echo in me It took me to find the divine harmony in the center of my life.
The word “resonance” of the great figures in my thoughts. If there is anything I read or heard does not resonate with me, I think it is absolutely impossible to internalize. Ring is like a sympathetic vibration with a frequency that touches something inside me. Again, part of the concept that “When the student is ready the teacher appears.” The point I am trying to make is that what resonates with me today, can not resonate with you today. But do not be surprised if you happen to resonate with you tomorrow.
Almost a year ago, I read the book by Eckhart Tolle, New Earth, and to see every episode of Oprah webinar on the subject. However, it was not until listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer, one month after finish watching all the episodes that finally “understood.” “It was very strange. And” if the fog had lifted from my field of vision. Finally, he came to me. It was the moment. “The new law that now is the time where I wanted to be. Do not want to be in the past or want to be in the future. There was nothing more important than being at this time.
I started thinking about my thinking in relation to the idea of “what is my relationship to the present moment.” I knew I had to learn more. Tolle’s book, The New Earth, not the spark of this flash of understanding. Not Oprah’s webinar. It ’s just gave me a necessary introduction to Wayne Dyer and softened me. I could simply say that what he said happened to resonate with me. That would be like standing outside next to an engine to idle in a Boeing 767 and saying that is very high. I was vibrant, not only the resonance!
I have a copy of Tolle’s previous book, The Power of Now, and began to read. The first 40 pages has come very slowly, but Tolle then began to give examples of how to carry themselves in the present moment. I finally get to a place where I was no longer a prisoner of the past and the perceived deficiencies past I was a prisoner of what could come in the future. I was staying in the present moment or present.
To me it feels very good for being in the moment with my knowledge of Jewish spiritual life. You can not be prepared to be in the moment, but if the time and the message is just what you need, I hope tu’ll open to it.
Introduction to Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah
July 7th, 2010When asked Judaism Jews, commonly asked questions such as: What is the nature of God? Do you believe in heaven and hell? What happens to us after death? The answers to questions like these characterize most religions. While Jewish law (Talmud) focuses on what God wants of man, the area of Judaism and Jewish thought that discusses these issues within the realm of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
Kabbalah is the name applied to the entire range of Jewish mystical activity.
The word Kabbalah comes from the Hebrew root-Beit-Lamed kuf, meaning “receive, accept.” If you have spent time studying or reading about the Kabbalah, one can not help but notice that there are many alternative spellings of the word. The reason for this is that some letters of the Hebrew alphabet have more than one representation in the English alphabet. For example, the letter “kuf can be written as K or Q or C. This has led some authors choose one spelling of Kabbalah, while others prefer another. Eventually, they are all talking about the rich mystical tradition has been a part of Judaism from its earliest
According to its supporters, the intimate understanding and mastery of the Kabbalah brings man spiritually closer to God and man as a result you can get information about the inner workings of God’s creation As these universal principles, which works to explain not only how our world which sits inside and outside, but why. It teaches a method that allows the spiritual seeker to live in harmony with the driving force behind all reality.
History of Kabbalah
Although it is unclear exactly where the mystical traditions of Kabbalah of origin, some texts claim this mystical system born to Moses on Mount Sinai, while others say that was provided by the angels to Adam as a means to return to the grace after the fall of “man. According to Kabbalistic tradition, the hidden dimension of the Torah – Kabbalah – was transmitted orally by the Jewish patriarchs, prophets and sages of antiquity. However, after the prophecy ceased and the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed, a new era dawned for Kabbalah. And the teaching of Kabbalah began to emerge around the second century AD Since then, and is still used by many as a guide to discover our inner truth.
The most famous work of Kabbalah, the Zohar, was revealed to the Jewish world in the thirteenth century by Moses de Leon. The Zohar was the form of a commentary or interpretation of the five books of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). While most of the comments to interpret the Torah as a plot and legal work, the mystics, like the Moses of Leon, tend to interpret as a system of symbols that reveal the secret laws of the universe.
Scholars have identified as the study of Kabbalah Yoga West. Its fundamental principles and beliefs are similar to the system, including chakra yoga. It is the theory that the ideas and the method used in chakra system represent abstract ideals to be achieved. The Kabbalistic system, on the other hand is expressed through the use of specific concepts and concrete symbols, which carry the unconscious thoughts, ideas and behaviors in our consciousness.
The prohibitions on the study of Kabbalah
Over the years, the prohibitions arouse around the study of Kabbalah. The rabbis of the Talmud regarded the mystical study of God as being important, but warned that it could be dangerous. There is a famous story where four great sages of the Talmud came into a garden. They went into a state of ecstasy, a state of ecstasy and spiritual, and three of them do not survive. One went mad, one died and one abandoned his faith. It is only Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and be left alone.
That was this episode, after the experiences of people who became mentally unbalanced while engaging in mystical and disaster false messiah Shabtai Zevi, which gave rise to the seventeenth century rabbis to legislate that Kabbalah should be studied only by married men over forty who were also scholars of Torah and the Talmud. In recent times, the prohibitions in connection with the study of Kabbalah, even in Orthodox communities have been relaxed.
Types of practical Kabbalah
There are two types of Kabbalah: contemplative practice.
Practical Kabbalah seeks to alter the nature of existence and change the course of events through ritual techniques. It can be seen as a kind of white magic, which is the use of techniques that could evoke supernatural powers. Its aim is to produce real change, through the intervention of God can find examples in the Bible, with stories such as Moses drawing water from the rock or a stick of Aaron is transformed into a snake. We use the expression of the divine names and incantations, amulets and talismans, like palmistry, astrology and physiognomy. In recent times, this is the way of Kabbalah is very often practiced by non-Jewish Kabbalah practitioners of magic or ofHermetic.
The other form of Kabbalah, Kabbalah contemplative seeks to explain the nature of God and the nature of our existence through intellectual and meditative techniques.
This form of Kabbalah is the most often when reading written works on Kabbalah. Much of this branch has grown from the study of Scripture. various techniques to reveal the basic meaning of the sacred texts are Notariqon temurah Gematria and exploring relationships and hidden meaning of numbers, letters, words and phrases. In turn, theories of how the universe was created and the essential nature of God and man, are explored and summarized through the symbol or glyph is known as the Tree of Life.
To a Kabbalist, the representation of the tree of life is often seen as a visual map that can continue as we enter the realm of the unconscious and the unknown. It consists of 10 balls or Sephirah that symbolize the emanations of God or quality. According to Kabbalistic tradition, the Ten Sefirot correspond to ten levels of creation or ten different ways of God is revealed to us.
They can also be considered as energy centers goals and discrete states of consciousness available to us or a description of the unfolding energy transition from God to man. They form the internal structure of reality and represent the dynamic relationships that take place both physically and spiritually, where we offer a model of personal growth and development. This is because hidden within each Sephiroth is a hidden force which corresponds to different states of psycho-spiritual motivation of the human soul.
There is much more that can be discussed when talking about the Kabbalah, but this should begin this exciting journey of self-discovery.
Kabbalah gives us the tools that allow us to explore all aspects of our inner and outer and help us better know and understand our relationship with the world around us. Can also be used as a tool to open spiritually and know God better No matter how you choose to use the wisdom of Kabbalah, find gratitude in all their work and learning and be open to receive his blessing.
© Copyright Body, Mind & SoulHealer – www. soulhealer. com 2007. All rights reserved.
Baxter Memorial Library (1889) – roofline detail SQ
June 28th, 2010
Image taken on 2007-10-05 14:13:59 by origamidon.
Jewish Conversion the Call to the Torah, Now Heeded Online
June 19th, 2010Judaism is more than 5,000 years. The Internet has been around for a small fraction of the time. However, a rabbi with a specialized Web site has brought ancient tradition and modern technology together, providing conversions to Judaism in a process that is conducted largely online. The rabbi, Celso Cukierkorn, offers an online course conversion for those who want to be Jewish. A PC and a network connection that the rabbi and converts from as far away as Australia and New Zealand together for online study and the final exam. Rabbi Cukierkorn (he pronounces COOK-your-horns) and himself a convert, somehow, to computer technology. It grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and recalled that students learned to use computers in their school. But the team was square mainframe technology, probably in 1960, she supposed, and not pursue a computer training beyond high school. “Until the mid-90s, I was not in computing,” said Rabbi Cukierkorn, who is 34. But then I realized that there are different ways to touch people “and that the team had one. His ancestors, who were the rabbis,” traveled from town to town to bring the message of God, “he said.” This time is the same thing, except it does not go to a specific location. “I can do it from your computer. “Rabbi Cukierkorn also conducts in-person conversion classes at Congregation B’nai Israel, a Reform synagogue in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, but modern technology, he said, offers” a wonderful way to help people who can not find a rabbi to convert or live in places where a rabbi or your program will not allow them to convert “to more traditional forms. Most of their students in online learning on its website, www. conversiontojudaism. org, which continued its course or rabbis, he said. The on-line curriculum, which is divided into eight units, is a mixture of books and online material, some of which Rabbi Cukierkorn wrote. Y ‘customized for each student, depending on prior knowledge of Judaism . One of the units, for example, is what the rabbi calls the “life cycle” Jewish year, which begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and is directed through another day of celebrations and festivals in chronological order . At the end of each unit is a questionnaire. The curriculum requires approximately 80-120 hours of work, which can last from three months to more than a year to complete. Besides the courses on-line, the process requires the participation in a seminar of the conversion. Was held recently in Beverly Hills, California, and another is scheduled soon in Miami Beach. Rabbi Cukierkorn said he hoped to hold one in New York at least once a year. The course is followed by a final exam, also given online, which has 100 questions. But unlike most tests, there is no specific score. The rabbi said he seems to see “how it feels and what is inside them.” Reads the answers “to see a larger picture.” “That’s what this is all,” he said. “We’re not looking for intellectual capabilities.” The rabbi said he usually turns into how much to pay, and that payments have ranged from nothing to nearly $ 2,500. Many conversions involve someone who is married or plans to marry a Jew, but some people motivate others, said the rabbi. One of the most unusual interest to which he had seen the movie “Schindler’s List” and decided unilaterally that he wanted to become a Jew. One of the students in line Davimos Melissa R., 38, of Boca Raton, Florida, said he wanted to convert before her daughter, Spencer, was born. He said he was unable to find a synagogue in Boca Raton that welcomed converts, so he turned to the Internet. She said she and her husband, who is Jewish, which is expected to join a synagogue soon and to have a baby naming ceremony there for Spencer, who is now three months old. Another participant, Ana Scherer, Florianópolis, Brazil, said via email that he was born Catholic but at the age of 12 who “concluded that Catholicism was not my truth.” Ms. Scherer, 34, said she began studying online in Brazil and continued when he moved to Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, in 2000. Cukierkorn rabbi, who was trained as an Orthodox rabbi and graduated from the Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey Ayshel Abraham, New York, said criticism had not found that people who seek conversion online are not serious enough in their desire become a Jew. Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, chancellor of Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism, said the conservative movement requires at least one year of study for prospective converts, including the study of Hebrew, and requires “an lot ‘of human contact, although the process does not all have to be face to face. Rabbi Schorsch said it sounded to him as the program’s Web site and found the second test was “on track” to the first. Rabbi Cukierkorn said its online conversion process is identical to that used in the synagogue. “The only difference is that I can do the conversion interview over the phone,” he said. When asked where most of his converts the rabbi paused and then said: “I have the whole world. They come from where God touches their souls.”
Published: July 1, 2004 Times New York
http://www. convertingtojudaism. com / NewYorkTimes. htm
New-Jewish-Centre-02
June 10th, 2010
Image taken on 2009-08-02 11:18:31 by Stephan Schobloch.
Jewish Weddings In Toronto By Babylon Wedding Center
June 6th, 2010Jewish weddings in Toronto are performed in open space under a chuppah. The chuppah is a shelter used in Jewish weddings. That “consists of a sheet stretched over four poles and symbolizes the couple build a house. Traditional Jewish weddings have many rituals that signify the end of a marriage. The husband is called Chatan and Kallah Jewish is known as the bride. In Jewish weddings, the Chatan and Kallah are the king and queen, respectively. In preparation for her wedding day, the Chatan and Kallah can hire a DJ for the reception. You can also hire a band or a musician who can play or sing Jewish music.
Pre-wedding celebrations at Jewish weddings begin in two different positions, because the bride and groom do not see the week before the wedding. Before the wedding, the groom, the bride and her parents write a document detailing what the groom promises to meet his wife. All nodes in the head of the groom are not related. This symbolizes that all links are broken, but that is about to give his girlfriend. Traditionally, Jewish weddings, the groom and the bride on her wedding day fast. The reason given is for them to purify their souls.
ideal Jewish weddings in Toronto will take place outdoors. This symbolizes God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. The bodyguards Chatan the chuppah and women of Commons Kallah. The groom awaits his bride chupah and this symbolizes a welcome to the new “home.”
When the participation of Jewish weddings in Toronto, and the bride and groom circle of family members seven times. The number 7 is important in Judaism and represents the seventh day God used to create the world. After turning the groom, the bride will be in the right side of the groom. Under the chuppah, three things happen. First, the groom gives the bride’s ring. The ring should be simple, unadorned or imperfections. The ring is placed on the index finger of the right hand of the bride. The ketubah, which is the marriage contract is read and signed. And the “property of the bride should have access to it throughout their marriage.
For Jewish weddings in Toronto, several people were asked to recite the seven blessings. After the blessing, the couple drink the second glass of wine. The groom breaks the glass with his right foot. This is done in memory of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
The bride and groom in a private room upgrade. Here the couple breaks the fast. This isolation in Jewish marriages referred to privacy to be given. It also alludes to their new intimacy. This completes the Jewish wedding ceremony, at the wedding are as follows. A celebration in honor of the occasion as a bar mitzvah ceremony next. Jewish music and live shows allow guests. You can hire a cameraman who shot the video and a photographer to take pictures.