3+ day, 3+ hour ago  (370+ words) A pope's first encyclical is often read as a roadmap for the years ahead. It signals the priorities that will shape a papacy and the challenges the church believes deserve special attention. Pope Leo XIV could have chosen poverty, war,…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago  (226+ words) By Stuart N. Brotman Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas, warns that artificial intelligence is supercharging disinformation and fueling what he calls "hybrid" conflicts " wars fought as much in the realm of images and narratives as on…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago  (171+ words) By Rabbi Corey Helfand This week's Torah portion is Naso: Numbers 4: 21 " 7: 89 As we enter Shabbat, allow me to offer my own revised version of the Priestly Blessing, drawing on the verses from the Torah, those same verses that were used…...

5+ mon, 3+ week ago  (369+ words) This week's Torah portion is Miketz: Genesis 41: 1 " 44: 17 Imagine the Joseph saga as a three-season series on HBO. We viewers are angry. "Unfair! How can you leave us hanging like that?" But we can't wait to see how next season's first…...

6+ mon, 3+ day ago  (803+ words) Students from different religious backgrounds and universities visited the Vatican last month as a part of an interfaith dialogue program, highlighted by an in-person meeting with Pope Leo XIV. Rachel Milner Gillers, a Jewish Georgetown University associate professor who attended the…...

6+ mon, 2+ week ago  (548+ words) By Rabbi Dr. Sanford H. Shudnow This week's Torah portion is Vayetze: Genesis 28: 10 " 32: 3 Nowhere do we find the God of immanence more than in the stories of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. There is no such thing as a transcendent God,…...

7+ mon, 1+ day ago  (919+ words) Tevi Troy Almost immediately after the horrific Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, most Orthodox Jewish congregations began the practice of saying additional Tehillim (Psalms), usually chapters 121 and 130, after the three daily prayer services. In addition, many congregations, Orthodox,…...

8+ mon, 1+ week ago  (285+ words) Rabbi Dr. Rebecca Joseph This week's Torah portion is Ha'azinu: Deuteronomy 32: 1 " 52 How does one create an ethical will, a Jewish legacy document passing on values, stories, wishes and advice to your loved ones and their descendants? Rabbi Steve Lader, an…...

10+ mon, 2+ week ago  (595+ words) Rabbi Steven Gotlib This week's Torah portion is Devarim: Deuteronomy 1: 1 " 3: 22 On its surface, the Book of Deuteronomy appears to be a restatement of stories and laws that were already covered in the preceding four books of the Torah. This is,…...