The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve
According to the Bible, God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where they could eat freely from all but one of the trees. Entranced by a serpent, Eve disobeyed the divine prohibition to eat from the forbidden fruit and Adam soon followed.
The Dollmaker of Krakow
Young adult Holocaust narratives aren’t too hard to find. Prisoner B-3087, Refugee, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas are among the many novels striving to broach a challenging subject for a teen or tween audience. Because children and teens were profoundly impacted by the events leading up to and during World War II, sharing a story from their point of view is a natural entry point for a reader of the same age.
How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion
In How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion (Simon & Schuster), Northeastern University Psychology professor David DeSteno asserts that even skeptics, not just believers, can draw strength and comfort from religion in their personal lives.
I Named My Dog Pushkin (and Other Immigrant Tales): Notes from a Soviet Girl on Becoming an American Woman
Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood
Building the Temple
Stories We Tell: The Grandfather, the Granddaughter and the Donkey
Stories We Tell: The Prince Who Thought he was a Rooster
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Sh’lach L’cha: Judaism on the Fringes
What does it mean to be on the fringes of Judaism? Does Judaism allow for creativity, allowing those on the fringe who want, to be brought toward the center? Is Judaism open to different forms of expression?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - B’haalot’cha: Is the Torah Colorblind?
In this episode of On The Other Hand, Rabbi Jacobs is joined by April Baskin, URJ Vice President of Audacious Hospitality, to discuss the provocative text in Parashat B’haalot’cha when Miriam and Aaron talk behind Moses’s back about Moses marrying Tziporah, a Kushite woma