The Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative movement has just sent out an announcement that all teshuvot by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards since 1980 are now accessible on their web site.

Is Adira a Hebrew name? I am trying to pick one for myself for when I convert, and I want one close to my English name, Andrea. Adira sounds similar and means the same thing but I don't know if it's one that can be used as a Hebrew name, because it is modern Hebrew and not biblical. Is it common?

Thanks!

Just read this on socialwork (since I of course am a social worker ;) ) and thought I'd share it...

As many of you know, Irena Sendler, age 98, died today in Warsaw, Poland. She is credited with saving over 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto and almost certain death from the Nazis in WWII. She lived most of her life in obscurity. In 2007 she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She was also a social worker. She often lamented that she "could have done more" and that she risked her life everyday because she couldn't sit by and watch innocent blood being spilled.
She is a tribute to our profession and a stellar example of what one person can do.

Current Mood: impressed

Bageling by    Jessica Levine Kupferberg  

It all started when my friend Doodie Miller-- who wears a kippah -- was back in college and suffering through a tedious lecture. As the professor  droned on, a previously-unknown young woman leaned over and whispered in his ear: 'This class is as boring as my Zayde's seder.'

You see, the woman knew that she did not 'look' Jewish, nor did she wear any identifying signs like a Star of David. So foregoing the awkward declaration, 'I'm Jewish,' the girl devised a more nuanced -- and frankly, cuter -- way of    heralding her heritage. This incident launched a hypothesis which would henceforth be known as the Bagel Theory.

This photo made me laugh out loud. Let the jokes begin!

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/holocaust-hero-who-saved-children-dies/20080512084809990002

I'm having a non-Jew choir sing at my wedding and I'd like them to sing mavel tov v'simul tov as the recessional. We're also going to have a pianist. Do any of you know where you can get sheet music for the song?

Are there any texts that discuss a relationship between individual Hebrew letters and scents?

As requested by outcastspice, here's a banner for Yom Ha'atzmaut. If anyone has ideas on improvements, I might have some time to alter it later today... or I'll happily e-mail someone the Photoshop file so that they can edit it. I just have two kids crawling on me, so I had to do this in a rush.



edit: It looks like the animation isn't showing in the thumbnail. Click on it to see the actual banner. :-)
Also, feel free to copy and use as desired.

I don't mean this to be a plug for a commercial product but thought fans of Ephraim Kishon's long-running "Dry Bones" Israeli cartoon might like to know that he's selling a commemorative mug for Israel's 60th birthday at CafePress: http://www.cafepress.com/drybonesgifts.254162992

I would very much like to hear from people who used to be strictly halachically shomer(et) Shabbat in their observance and now still observe some form of halachic Shabbat but not as strictly as before. How did you decide what aspects of Shabbat to stop observing? What things did you keep and what things did you let go and why?

Note that I understand that many people observe Shabbat in some way that is personally meaningful to them that has nothing to do with halachic restrictions, and that some people used to be halachically observant but have given all observance up. What I'm specifically interested in is people who are still keeping some form of halachic Shabbat observance but not completely. Thanks for your insights.

Current Mood: curious

I can tell "typical" looking Jewish people, but some are totally brown that I don't see any different from "French",
maybe the definition go after the religion only. ?

I am pretty sure you guys confuse about the asians too.