What Is Remembrance Day for Ethiopian Jews? Originally Published May 27-28, 2022.
The calendar says that the 28th day of Iyyar is not only Yom Yershalayim (Jerusalem Day) but also Remembrance Day for Ethiopian Jews. This year it is Sunday, May 29th. The Israeli Ethiopian community on this day remembers those who attempted the journey to Israel but did not make it alive. We have written before […]
Who/What Is a Sheliah Tzibbur? And What Is a Cantor? Published May 20, 2022.
Deriving from the word for “sending” or “messenger,” and the word for “community,” the sheliah tzibbur is the person who leads the congregation (the tzibbur) in prayers. Sometimes the sheliah tzibbur is considered to be fulfilling obligations on behalf of the congregation. The Shulhan Arukh states that the person must be “appropriate,” which has been […]
Shabbat Shiur Program - Personal Torah Next Session May 14
Join us after kiddush on Saturday, May 14 for the second lay-led discussion in this series. Jonathan Weinkle will lead us in investigating the Talmudic tale of rabbis falling ill and healing each other. Questions? Contact Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman at mgoodman@bethshalompgh.org
Who Was Nora Ephron, Born on May 19, 1941? Originally Published May 13-14, 2022.
The eldest of four daughters born to Phoebe and Henry Ephron, who both were playwrights and screenwriters born in the U.S., Nora Ephron in high school wanted to grow up to be another Dorothy Parker. Soon she augmented that dream to include journalism, and majored at Wellesley College (Massachusetts) in Political Science. In 1961 she […]
What Should We Know About Henry Morgenthau Jr.? Originally Published May 6-7, 2022.
Born on May 11, 1891, in New York, into a prominent Jewish family, Henry Morgenthau Jr. studied architecture and agriculture at Cornell University. Around that same time, during WWI, his father, Sr., served as President Woodrow Wilson’s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. In Constantinople, Sr. learned about the atrocities the empire was committing against the […]