Trope Tools - Learn to Read Torah on the iPad
Rabbi Eli Garfinkel, rabbi of Temple Beth El in Somerset, New Jersey and the techie behind the award-winning RabbiPod, has created his first app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad family of Apple...
View ArticleTechnology and Jewish Education Conference
Jewish techie Ari Davidow listened in on JESNA's recent "Technology and Jewish Education" conference and posted some of his observations on the Jewish Women's Archive blog. JESNA's conference is run...
View ArticleThe Virtual Simcha
The first time I heard about a "virtual simcha" was in the late 1990s. Detroit was hit with a massive snowstorm and the 8-day old baby boy's aunt who was to play the role of rabbi was stuck at the...
View ArticleBar And Bat Mitzvah Can Be A Sacred Moment
Rabbi Sid Schwarz Special to the Jewish Week The great American bar/bat mitzvah has become a source of parody in Jewish life. The 13-year olds are at the most awkward stage of their lives with...
View ArticleiPad Provides Voice for Bar Mitzvah Boy
One of the great uses of the Apple iPad is for children with disabilities. Steve Jobs was acutely aware of that important use of the tablet that was one of the gadgets of which he was most proud. A...
View ArticleCan Drake Save the Bar Mitzvah?
When Drake’s new video, “HYFR,” dropped over the weekend—in which the Jewish, biracial hip-hop superstar raps at a bar mitzvah—I was thrilled. Initially.read more
View ArticleDavid Arquette Bar Mitzvahed at Western Wall, 27 Years Late
JMNS Actor David Arquette, 40, star of the “Scream” movie series and occasional professional wrestler, celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall on Monday, according to reports.The...
View ArticleB'nai Mitzvah: A Revolution, Not A Graduation
Julie Wiener Associate Editor From the Russian to the Chinese to the Sexual to, most recently, an eponymous sci-fi post-apocalyptic TV series, the past century has witnessed its share of revolutions....
View ArticleMeet Mazel: The B'nai Mitzvah Magazine
Julie Wiener Associate Editor The 21st century’s bar mitzvah year, 2013, is almost here and b’nai mitzvah talk seems to be everywhere.read more
View ArticleA Different Kind Of Bar Mitzvah: Walking For Autism
Hidden away, they have been waiting for this day. To be used for the purpose for which they had been created. Beautifully, lovingly.read more
View ArticleAt His Untraditional Bar Mitzvah, A Son With Autism Leads The Congregation
A piece of my soul died when we decided that Ben’s autism would necessitate a reexamination of a conventional Bar Mitzvah service. Having guided so many young people through their studies towards...
View ArticleBrooklyn Boy Killed By Van One Month Before Bar Mitzvah
JTA NEW YORK — A Brooklyn boy was struck and killed by a van one month before his bar mitzvah.read more
View ArticleWhat A Bar Mitzvah Taught Us, and Our Son
Ever since our son was diagnosed with autism, at age two and a half, I'd been wondering about his bar mitzvah. I come from a family of shulgoers who lead services, read from the Torah, and sing. My...
View ArticleDrake's SNL Bar Mitzvah Flashback
We knew Canada-born rap star Drake was Jewish, but he went full-blown MOT during his turn as host of Saturday Night Live this weekend, offering a comic look at how his African American and Jewish...
View ArticlePost Bar Mitzvah, Communal Role Grows For Boy With Disability
So, Jewish life after Bar Mitzvah… It is hard to believe that there is life after Bar Mitzvah! Since our son Avi was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, we have been very goal-driven. What did he...
View ArticleBar Mitzvah Twins: Roi And Zachary
When I was little I thought that becoming a bar mitzvah was about learning to read the Torah and putting on tefillin. But as it gets closer I realize it is also about taking on some important adult...
View ArticleA Camp, A Bar Mitzvah And A Family's Respite
They say that it takes a village to raise a child. I say that it takes a village… and a synagogue or three, an edah (Amitzim) and a family camp (Ohr Lanu) at Machaneh Ramah and a loving, supportive...
View ArticleBar Mitzvah Singer Nicki Minaj Tries To Make It Right With The Jews
Miriam Groner Web Editor Is Nicki Minaj trying to make it right with the Jews? Probably not, but she sure did make a lot of young Jews very happy when she performed at a Bar Mitzvah in New York City...
View ArticleNot So Special: My Bar Mitzvah Year, 50 Years Later
In 1965, the phrase “special needs” hadn’t yet been coined. I felt just like the other 15 students — excited about our Bar Mitzvahs, but bored by the four hours of preparation each week.read more
View ArticleMasorti Movement In Israel Speaks Out To President Rivlin
Yesterday, the Masorti Movement for Conservative Judaism in Israel sent a letter to Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, signed by the leaders of every major Conservative Jewish organization, urging him...
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