“I very frequently hear from people: ‘I’m so glad that you do what you do…even though I hate all of it…because I wouldn’t know what’s happening [in my community] if I didn’t [read your articles]. I wouldn’t be able to…
The Western Wall wails
The Titanic of Today Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) of righteous memory, the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the seventh and last leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, never visited Israel. He also never gave a definitive reason as to why. Legend…
Interfaith Shabbat and confronting dialogue
This past Friday night, February 5, Hillel at UCLA hosted “Interfaith Shabbat,” an evening with programming for non-Jewish visitors interested in learning about Judaism and Shabbat and/or building rapport with Jewish students. The evening began with a choice of Orthodox…
Taste of Torah: Slavery and societal development
One of the many beauties of studying Torah is tracing an idea to its origins thousands of years ago and seeing its final effect in our society. This week’s parshah (Torah portion), Mishpatim, opens with the laws of treatment of Hebrew slaves. The…
Son of Saul
Saul, a gaunt-faced and hollow-eyed man, stares out at you from the screen, seeming utterly removed, detached, dead—just like the lifeless bodies he drags from the gas chambers to the crematoria. László Nemes‘ Son of Saul or Saul Fia, in Hungarian, presents a glimpse into…
Bible codes and bad religion
Walking through the old city in Jerusalem on a Tuesday afternoon, I arrived at the Aish HaTorah building overlooking the Western Wall — Judaism’s holiest site. It was about four years ago that I had gone, with about 50 other…
Why can’t we be friends? Religion and understanding
This past Tuesday, UCLA students gathered for an interfaith event in a small room on the third floor of the Humanities building to discuss many important topics. The event was relatively successful, but due to a miscommunication, there were no…
Extreme Makeover: Conservative Judaism edition
Sometimes in life, one may undergo an identity crisis of sorts, feeling the need to redesign one’s image to the world and get a makeover. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is taking “makeover” to a whole new level by…
Profile on Dr. Saba Soomekh: the newest administrator of Leve Center for Jewish Studies
With the advent of a new academic year, innovations are practically inevitable for an ever-evolving campus such as UCLA. One novelty at UCLA took place earlier this fall at the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies (CJS), when…
The restriction of our movements: leaning towards nondenominational Judaism
I would like to introduce you to The Box. The Box helps define, categorize and organize. It’s comfortable inside The Box. We were raised in The Box. Our families helped build The Box. Whom would we be without The Box?…