Known for a disarming smile and a dignified love of all people, Rabbi Chaskel Besser, who worked to spur a revival of Jewish life in his native Poland, passed away at the age of 87. Read more: Rabbi Chaskel Besser, Revitalizing Force of Polish Jewry,... 

When Rucheli Manville saw the news reports of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti last month, the University of Central Florida undergraduate decided to take action. Excerpt from:  Florida Undergraduate Collects Clothes and Money for Haiti... 

Thousands of people attended the Federation of Jewish Communities annual awards ceremony and celebration of those who have made significant contributions to Jewish life in the former Soviet Union. Here is the original: Jewish Community Gathers in Kremlin... 

It’s no secret Chanukah menorahs come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and feature any of a number of materials in their construction. View post:  From Sports Fans to Students, Communities Worldwide Ready for Chanukah  Read More →

The following is a guest post by Leora Koller-Fox. This week, the birth of NewCAJE was announced. Several months ago my mother, a founder of CAJE, and I started to get young educators involved in the process. I sent out an email to friends and got some... 

A little while back, in addressing recent discussions of minyanim and reacting to Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, BZ posted: Rabbi Kaunfer writes “New self-proclaimed movements sprung up — Reconstructionism, and the Renewal and Chavurah Movements.” The “Chavurah... 

Canada might have a federal election soon. How soon remains to be seen, though that hasn’t stopped the Conservatives , who are currently running their second consecutive minority government , under leadership of Stephen Harper, to start planning... 

(Crossposted to Mah Rabu .) Independent minyanim have been popping up all over the press lately. First of all, they make an appearance in this CNN piece on “New Jews”, but that deserves a whole snarky post of its own, so I’ll leave... 

Are you reading this from “down under” or are you planning on visiting Australia in March 2010? Learn about this great event. The website is now live for the Second Australian National Conference on Jewish Genealogy – Sunday-Tuesday,... 

The Jewish Genealogical Society of New York will hold its membership brunch on Sunday, November 15, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan. The kosher dairy buffet at 11am will be followed by guest curator Karen Franklin speaking on “Creating...