Stories,photos

190 results total, viewing 61 - 70

I read Saul Bellow’s novel “Herzog” in the late ’60s, when I was a rabbinical student in Manhattan and living the joys and the challenges of a young marriage (which has now … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 10/25/18

What I believe and don’t believe about ‘the word of God’

When I came to Barrington in the summer of 1974 to serve as rabbi of Temple Habonim (then called the Barrington Jewish Center), I made it clear at the outset that I do not believe that our Torah is … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 4/9/21

A very narrow bridge

In 1995 Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, published “An Unquiet Mind,” a breakthrough book on the subject of manic-depressive illness – today, most often referred to as “bipolar … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 1/17/14

The God of Isaac Bashevis Singer

In 1979, the Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991), winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature, delivered a lecture on “A Personal Concept of Religion,” sponsored by the … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 4/7/17

The world needs more peace-builders like Issa Jaber and Rabbi Kronish

Abu Ghosh, Israel, is a town of approximately 7,000 Palestinian Arabs 6 miles west of Jerusalem. Its roots can be traced back to about 6,000 B.C.E., making the site one of the oldest places … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 11/25/16

‘The Earth is the Lord’s’

Those of us who celebrated Thanksgiving here in Rhode Island do not need to be reminded that despite the warmth of family and friends around our holiday tables, the weather outside was … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 12/20/18

A conversation across the centuries

Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951) established The Barnes Foundation back in 1922. Barnes conceived of the foundation that bears his name as an educational institution rather than as a museum. For decades admission to his extensive but eccentric art … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 1/7/16

Sholem Aleichem – nostalgia with a bite

Ever since it opened on Broadway in the fall of 1964, starring Zero Mostel as Tevya, “Fiddler on the Roof” has been part of Jewish consciousness here in America, throughout the diaspora and in Israel as well. Not wanting to argue with success, … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 4/10/14

A psalm of the winter solstice

“SHE: What happened to Psalm 88? Why did you skip it? “HE: I don’t think you could take it tonight. I am not sure I could. No: I am sure I could not. “SHE: Please read it, for me ... I need that kind the most.” … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 4/23/15

What happened to Mattapan?

In March 1973, Rabbi Samuel Korff delivered a eulogy for Charles Shumrack, a longtime member of Congregation Kehillath Jacob who was murdered in his first-floor apartment in the Boston neighborhood of Mattapan. In the course of his remarks, “Korff … more

Rabbi James Rosenberg | 9/30/14