Life Is Unfair (A Rosh Hashanah D’Var)

Torah

A simple math equation: A banished surrogate mother and child + child sacrifice + a great leader dying for no good reason = totally messed up. But life is messed up. And G-d, in this week’s Torah portions, represents life. What’s the solution to a moral crisis when you live in an amoral (non-moral) universe? [...]

Love The Stranger

rainbowheartpaper

By Danny Stauffer One day as I was studying the Torah I noticed that the commandment to love the stranger was repeated several times. I’m sure as good Jews we’ve all read the Torah and noticed the same thing. In fact, I think anybody, regardless of your level of observance, has come across that commandment [...]

Redneck Teaches Rosh Hashanah

CB064076

Your favorite banjo playing Georgia boy brings you a few kind words about the Jewish new year. L’Shana Tovah! Share this:

The Importance of Fringes

Tzitzit, used by Creative Commons permission. Photo by 'AngerBoy'

(Originally posted here by our friend Ketzirah) In the  traditional morning prayer service, it is a common practice to gather the fringes (tzitzit) of the prayer shawl into your left hand while saying the  Shema — the central statement of faith.  This practice came to mind after I read what I felt to be a [...]

The Secret Language of Jewish Communal Professionals

business_woman_with_group

Like any profession, those of us who are Jewish-For-A-Living have a secret language that we use with each other. To the outsider, this language is strange and unfamiliar. And since I believe in openness, here is my own personal WikiLeaks glossary of Jewish non-profit speak. Remember kids, this is all in good fun…so don’t get [...]

Parshah Nitzavim-Vayelech

Torah

Children are a real pain. But G-d loves us, so it all sorta works out in the end.

Circumcision: Our Community Dialogue

cut

In our first of several multimedia community discussions on controversial issues in Judaism, PunkTorah is proud to present Cut, a film by Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon about circumcision.

White is Right (in this context anyway)

Kittel

What do we as Jews do that makes us so deserving of G-d’s praise and warm light? What have we done in order to wear white on Yom Kippur and not deem ourselves hypocrites within the halls of our shuls and the streets of our communities? White is such an unflattering color! Yet, this white [...]

Eat, Pray, Fight…With Your Wife (Parshat Ki Tavo)

Torah

What Do Apples, Prayer and Fighting With Your Girlfriend Have In Common? (Ki Tavo) I’m psyched about Rosh Hashanah. I’m supposed to say that for spiritual reasons. But really, I like apples and honey. This week’s Torah portion is about fruit. The first fruit, in fact. We’re supposed to give that up as a sacrifice [...]

How To Start An Online Syangogue…Part I

synagogue

Originally posted on Jewcy. Once upon a time, a group of people decided to start an online synagogue called OneShul. This independent minyan consisted of two buddies in Atlanta (a graphic designer and his weirdly Type-A musician friend) and all their friends that they met online who loved Judaism and were a little different in [...]