News and Thoughts from Judaism Online

My list of 20 recommended Jewish books Aug 14, 2025

One question adults ask when they want to learn about Judaism is what books they should read.

It's not as simple a question as it might seem. There are thousands upon thousands of Jewish books. The question they're asking is which ones they should start with.

The first criterion for most is that t...

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"The Surge" - aka a reawakening in Jewish life post-October 7 Jul 23, 2025

While antisemitism has grown leaps and bounds since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering some 1200 civilians in Israel and kidnapping some 250 - both alive and dead, there has been a marked interest in returning to Jewish life among Jews who had left it. And there has also been a marke...

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Free: Watch my webinar, Israel Beyond the Headlines (recorded June 29, 2025) Jul 13, 2025

If you missed my free live webinar, Israel Beyond the Headlines, you can watch the recording here. It's 93 minutes of personal reflections on what's happening in Israel today, in four parts:

  • Culture and Jewish Life
  • Arab-Jewish Relations
  • Dealing with The Situation (Part 1)
  • Dealing with The Situ
  • ...
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Webinar: Israel Beyond the Headlines (Sunday, June 29, 7 pm Israel time) Jun 24, 2025

I've prepared a webinar for this coming Sunday, June 29, at 7 pm Israel time, called

Israel Beyond the Headlines

on what's happening and what life is like in Israel right now. It's free, but you need to register in advance.

To register, please visit www.judaism.online/israel-beyond-the-headlines

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How to convert to Judaism Jun 11, 2025

A few generations ago, converts to Judaism were usually people engaged to marry Jews. That still happens, but most people contemplating conversion to Judaism are looking to join the Jewish people and practice Judaism, without necessarily being engaged to someone born Jewish.

If you're thinking abou...

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Shavuot - the Feast of Weeks, which is really about Torah and Mt. Sinai May 30, 2025

The holiday of Shavuot begins Sunday evening, June 1 (we're talking 2025 in this post). You know the drill: in Israel, it's a one-day holiday, so it continues during the day on Monday, June 2. In the Diaspora, that one day becomes two.

In the Bible, it's agriculturally-focused, and it comes seven w...

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Yom Hazikaron - Israel's Remembrance Day and Yom Ha'Atzmaut - Israel's Independence Day Apr 29, 2025

Yom Hazikaron

Yom Hazikaron, Israel's day of remembrance both for fallen soldiers and for victims of terror, begins this evening, April 29. It is a somber day.

Americans of a certain age will no doubt remember when Memorial Day in the US was like this, unlike today, when for many it's simply a day...

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Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Apr 23, 2025

Israel's observance of Yom Hashoah veHaGevurah (that is, Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) begins this evening, April 23.

Heroism, you ask? Yes, absolutely.

Israel's Knesset chose this date, in the week after the Passover holiday, to commemorate the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Th...

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Ask the Rabbi/Consult with the Rabbi Apr 20, 2025

Over the last I-don't-know-quite-how-many-years, "coaching" has sprung up in a plethora of surprising places. I suppose there may have always been business coaches, maybe career coaches, and birthing coaches. To these have been added all kinds of coaches, including "life coaches" - though the ones I...

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Passover is over...or is it? Apr 19, 2025

Here in Israel, the Passover holiday ended this evening. As the Torah says, it is a 7-day holiday.

But outside of Israel, in the Diaspora, Passover lasts for 8 days, following an ancient practice. 

In antiquity, the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem would determine the start of a new month based on testimony...

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Passover 2025 in Israel Apr 10, 2025

Passover, the Festival of Freedom

The Passover holiday, which begins this year on Saturday night, April 12, is the holiday of freedom. It begins with the ancient Hebrew slaves being redeemed from Egyptian servitude. 

That redemption was, as the Hebrew Bible says, done directly by God: plagues, mir...

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Can you learn Judaism online? Apr 09, 2025

Can you learn Judaism online?

The short answer: yes.

The longer answer: yes, and....

Yes, you can learn Judaism online.

Online learning has been around for a good while now, both in formal learning programs, like here at Judaism Online, and in those quick, bite-sized YouTubes that show you how t...

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