Siddur

"Sarah, we need your help in Ukraine this summer. Can I count on you?" This question changed my life profoundly. I was asked to be a counselor on JOLT, Jewish Overseas Leadership Program, an opportunity to interact with young campers in an impoverished country and positively influence their lives. Little did I realize that this experience would impact mine so greatly. JOLT, an outreach program, runs an annual overnight summer camp in Ukraine with counselors from the United States and Israel. These

1, 3, 4, 5, 7… A throwback to early school days when tasks were as easy as picking the dissimilar integer from the sequence. 4 is the odd one out in this series and on my visit to the Hillel House, I was the number four and I am going to tell you about a special night in my life. Philips Street, University of Massachusetts Amherst is home to Alpha Delta Phi, Sigma Phi Epsilon and some other highly stereotyped groups which we know as fraternities and sororities. You know what else is located on Philips

A group of Hungarian police sat drinking and laughing, their uniforms reeking of alcohol. One man spit out the name of a Jewish family that he was going to arrest the next day. After a few hours, all of the officers were passed out on the floor, all but one. He slipped into the night and ran down the city street towards a small house, a shadow amongst the darkness. The next morning the Hungarian police barged into an empty home. The family was nowhere to be seen (Michelson 1). The liberator

Shalom”. I didn’t know what was appropriate to say, but somehow “Shalom” came spilling out of my mouth, and the usher nodded. He gave us two books, Siddur Sim Shalom (a prayer book) and Gesher L’Tefillah (another prayer book). My friend and I found it hard to follow the prayers and songs from each book because most of the text was in Hebrew and the Siddur Sim Shalom opened and was to be read from the back of the book with the pages

My very first impression of Emanu-El was walking up to a security guard. Although at first glance it didn't seem very welcoming, my perspective would soon change. The security guard was one of the most friendly security guards I’ve ever met. Since I was a little flustered about being in a synagogue for the first time, I asked him if there was any sign in spot for students from USF. The security guard said in an extremely friendly manner that he didn’t know anything about USF but he would be happy

movement is egalitarian, so both men and women can wear whatever ritual attire they please if they choose to do so. That said, you may also see people not wearing any ritual attire. Once service began, a prayer book was brought out called a siddur. The siddur contains traditional prayers in Hebrew, English phonetic transliterations, and literal translations. Through the service the rabbi announced the page numbers as the worshippers can follow along. The congregation of the San Francisco synagogue

The Star of David (✡), known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David (Hebrew מָגֵן דָּוִד; Biblical Hebrew Māḡēn Dāwīḏ [maːˈɣeːn daːˈwiːð], Tiberian [mɔˈɣen dɔˈvið], Modern Hebrew [maˈɡen daˈvid], Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish Mogein Dovid [ˈmɔɡeɪn ˈdɔvid] or Mogen Dovid), is a generally recognized symbol of modern Jewish identity and Judaism.[1] Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles. Unlike the menorah, the Lion of Judah, the shofar and the lulav, the

There are five major world religions, which include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Even though the five religions seem so different they are very similar. All five religions have deity or Gods that are worshiped. They all have a set of practices that outlines an accepted religiously way of life. All five worship or pray in a particular way. Judaism has been around for over 3,000 years and they believe in one god. Some of the people broke off from Judaism and became

and lifecycle ceremonies and Jewish history. The differences between Progressive and Orthodox Judaism are explored, as well those between Judaism and other religions. The person converting learns to read Hebrew and understand the structure of the siddur and meaning of the prayers. During that time, the convert must attend Shabbat and all festival services and support their time in synagogue with appropriate home rituals and traditions including lighting candles and making kiddush, Havdalah and Pesach

Christianity vs. Judaism Christianity and Judaism are two Abrahamic theologies that have comparable origins, but have various beliefs, practices and teachings. Founded in 1300 BC, Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world today. The Jewish theology began with Abraham, who God sent to Canaan, where it all began. Hebrews took Judaism as their first religion. 14 million people classify themselves as Jewish worldwide today. Coming from Judaism, Christianity was founded in 30 AD