A schoolteacher enters his classroom one morning with a new method of education: "I won't be teaching you in person today," he tells his students. "Instead, I'll be leaving you with a recording of the class I've prepared." Later in the day, he stops by the classroom to check up on his students...what a sight! There is not a student to be found--12 empty desks stand, each with a recorder, taping the information blaring from his own audio player. The world we live in has become a systemized one; void of the …More

Two brothers--one rich and childless, the other poor but a parent of many--once struck a deal. The wealthy man, who desperately wanted a child, would pay a million dollars in exchange for one of his brother's children. A day before the exchange was to take place, the poor brother suddenly canceled the agreement. "But why, what changed?" asked the rich brother. "Until now, I always thought I had ten children," began the poor man, "but I've suddenly come to the realization that, in truth, I only have one--only …More

At the Western Wall on Friday night, a group of stars from the hit American TV shows "Scandal," and "Once Upon a Time" found themselves immediately recognized by religious Jewish prayer-goers. "People approached us at the Western Wall, saying they watch our shows," said Katie Lowes, who stars in the new American political thriller television series, "Scandal," created by "Grey's Anatomy" head Shonda Rhimes. "It has been an amazing experience, visiting across Israel. But the visit to the Western Wall and the …More

On the eve of the coronation of Willem-Alexander as the Netherlands’ new king Wednesday, the Dutch Jewish community held a special ceremony at the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. In a temple lit only by orange candles, symbolizing the Royal House of Orange, a special prayer was recited in the presence of 14 Torah scrolls. The prayer was then distributed among the Jewish communities across the Netherlands in Hebrew and Dutch, to be said by Dutch Jews every Shabbat during Shacharit morning …More

An Orthodox Jewish woman is suing the Lancome cosmetics firm, claiming that its 24-hour makeup does not last as long as advertised and thus prevents her from looking good for the entirety of Shabbat. Rorie Weisberg of Monsey, NY, in her lawsuit said Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra 24H foundation does not last 24 hours and that the company is practicing false advertising, a violation of New York State business law, the New York Post reported Wednesday. Weisberg's lawsuit explains that her son is having a bar mitzvah …More

Tablet Magazine has created a new project called “The Herzl Society: A New Conversation on Zionism’s Past and Future,” to encourage the topic of Zionism among college students. [Tablet] UC Berkley students denounced the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement’s involvement of an anti-Israel bill. [Times of Israel] The Canadian Jewish News is faced with potential closure, threatening the Jewish voice in Canada. [Huffington Post] The Sephardi Voices project has collected the firsthand …More

Jessica Bettelheim, a business ethics lecturer at Portland State University and a young Jewish mother, has little time to spare on weekends. Like other professionals her age, she's busy bonding with her husband and 4-year-old daughter, meeting friends at one of Portland's many fine restaurants or gardening, a favorite pastime in the verdant metropolis known as the City of Roses. So when Bettelheim received an email from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland last month advertising Food for Thought, a festival …More

Secretary of State John Kerry will make an official visit to Israel, Turkey, Jordan and Qatar next week, to address the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. [Times of Israel] The French Ministry of Justice has recently revised its law, allowing French Jews to change their surnames back to those of their Jewish ancestors. [Times of Israel] A small Holocaust archive in Germany, named Bad Arolsen, holds 30 million documents on survivors and plans to reach out to victims' families. [Forward] An elementary school in …More

This isn’t Cpl. Dina Ovadia’s first Passover in Israel. Slowly, slowly she seems to be moving away from her Egyptian past and becoming further ingrained in her Israeli present. Instead of thinking about her bittersweet childhood in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Cpl. Ovadia fills her time with her army service and in preparing her home in Rimonim for the Passover holiday. Today it is possible to say that she is far more Dina Ovadia than she is Rolin Abdallah – the name her family gave her as a …More

Passover, the annual celebration of the Israelites exodus from Egypt, is nearly upon us. Before the first seder Monday night, take a moment to make sure you are prepared for the many rituals that accompany the holiday. Removing All Chametz: It is prohibited to consume or possess chametz, leavened bread, for the week Passover. It can be eaten up until 11:13am on the morning before Passover begins, but then must be removed from the home. Chametz can be used up, thrown out, burned or given to non-Jews. Even …More

Beren Academy lost after a crazy 4 OT game against Geneva School of Boerne. The semi-final match eventually ended with the close score of 68-67, with Boerne winning. Last year the orthodox boys basketball team made it all the way to the finals. The Beren boys became an international story for sticking up for their beliefs last year. They were prepared to forfeit their hoop dreams for their religious beliefs when the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) refused to change the schedule so that …More

Beren Academy, an Orthodox Jewish school, drew national attention when the Texas school organization to which it belonged initially refused to reschedule a semifinal basketball game that conflicted with the Sabbath. Now the Jewish school is back in the state semi-finals. Beren was in the midst of a similar conflict last year when the school was scheduled to play at 9 p.m. on a Friday at the Texas Association of Private and Parochial School’s 2A Boy’s Basketball Tournament. At first, TAPPS would not …More