A new translation and commentary. After the Shoah—and after modern secularism’s fall from privilege—it is time for Jews to return to reading the Torah as God’s guiding word to them. It is time for ...

Simchat Torah. It’s the Jewish holiday that comes after all the important Jewish holidays — Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot — this time of year. At the end of one Torah-reading cycle and the ...

We are living through a period of plagues, floods, wildfires and other biblical events. In the Torah, such catastrophes often follow poor human behavior — times when we ignore the word of God. You can ...

When I was younger and still figuring out what religion meant to me, I went to synagogue most Shabbats. I loved the rhythm of the service, the sense of belonging, the melodies that felt familiar and ...

(RNS) — A few years ago, the Conservative congregation of 900 families overlooking Lake Michigan took on a challenge. This past year 210 laypeople stepped up. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (RNS) — Growing up in ...

Traditionally, women have been locked out of reading the Jewish holy book in Orthodox Holy Day celebrations. But a small movement of female Torah readers is gaining ground both in the United States ...

Jews all over the world will gather this week observing the start of the new year. For some members of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, the services will be a showcase on how well they can read from ...

(JTA) — When Alyza Lewin became a bat mitzvah in 1977, the fact that she had a ritual ceremony at all was still relatively revolutionary in Orthodox circles. But she took the rite of passage a step ...

JERUSALEM (RNS) Bar mitzvah boys are encouraged to read from the Torah at the Western Wall, but the state-supported Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which is run by Israel’s Orthodox establishment, ...

Israel’s high court suggested in a ruling Wednesday that women have the right to read from the Torah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The court ordered the rabbi of the Western Wall to explain within ...

As Gabe Silverman chants his Torah portion, he's intensely focused on every word. It's the culmination of months of study and the high point of his Bar Mitzvah service. The same is true for almost ...