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Articles on Judaism

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A Jewish woman lights a candle for the festival of Hanukkah at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

This Hanukkah, learn about the holiday’s forgotten heroes: Women

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah, which in 2022 begins on the evening of Dec. 18, focuses on the story of the male Maccabees. But women are also heroes in histories from that era, including Judith and Hannah.
In Daniel and Eugene Levy’s new book about their hit TV show ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ the latter writes he hoped the ‘Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose’ episode would reflect his real-life ‘manic insanity about the holiday.’ (CBC Comedy/YouTube)

‘Schitt’s Creek’ holiday special: For Jews like Johnny Rose, the menorah is still polished and lit, even in diaspora

The ‘Schitt’s Creek’ holiday special, a fan favourite, showed how the omipresence of Christmas has offered (especially intermarried) Jews a variety of non-exclusive options for the holiday season.
People protest in Texas after the governor signed a bill to outlaw abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. Sergio Flores/Getty Images News via Getty Images

When does life begin? There’s more than one religious view

‘Heartbeat’ abortion laws like the one enacted in Texas are often based on particular Christian views, but there are many religious perspectives on abortion. What do Jewish texts say?
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women have started telling their own stories via social media, challenging television’s sometimes one-sided depictions of their lives. rfranca/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’ spurred ultra-Orthodox Jewish women to talk publicly about their lives

The #MyOrthodoxLife movement challenges both mainstream and ultra-Orthodox media to tell more nuanced and complex stories about Jewish women.
Eugene Levy, who co-created ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ with son Dan Levy, arrives on the red carpet at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto in 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

‘Schitt’s Creek’: Where ‘Jews of no religion,’ facing exile, find redemption

Critics who ignore or simply miss the Jewishness of the ‘Schitt’s Creek’ characters fail to appreciate this key aspect of the show’s inclusive reach and appeal to diverse viewers.
Without a formal constitution, Israelis disagree on such basic issues as whether Israel is a Jewish state. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

How Israel’s missing constitution deepens divisions between Jews and with Arabs

Governed by a changeable body of ‘basic laws,’ Israel never settled basic questions like the rights of religious minorities. These destabilizing issues will continue to fester under a new government.
A condolence message and candles for the victims of a stampede during a Jewish ultra-Orthodox mass pilgrimage to Mount Meron, projected on a wall of Jerusalem’s Old City. Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

Lag BaOmer pilgrimage brings Orthodox Jews closer to eternity – I experienced this spiritual bonding in years before the tragedy

The Lag BaOmer pilgrimage, in which 45 people died recently, takes place each year to what is believed to be the gravesite of the second-century Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
The Jewish Museum’s Purim Ball at the Park Avenue Armory in 2015 in New York City. Andrew Toth/Getty Images

How New York’s 19th-century Jews turned Purim into an American party

In the 19th century, Purim became an occasion to hold fancy dress parties, the proceeds from which were given to charities. These parties helped American Jews gain a standing among the elite.
The Hasidic community comprises several communities that take their names from the cities of Eastern and Central Europe where they originated. In Montréal, the Belz and the Satmar are the best known. (Philippe Montbazet)

Policing religious gathering limits during the coronavirus pandemic requires sensitivity

Some Jewish prayers are not only about an individual connection with God. They have a community dimension that is essential to their conduct.
President Donald Trump speaks during a Hanukkah reception at the White House in 2019. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

How Hanukkah came to be an annual White House celebration

For much of American history, the only December holiday to be recognized in the White House was Christmas, but menorah lightings are now an annual tradition.

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