Passover and Shabbat Chol HaMoedCandle Lighting Night 1: 5:44pmCandle Lighting Night 2: 6:42pmCandle Lighting Shabbat Chol haMoed: 5:46pmHavdala: 6:43pm Candle Lighting Night 7: 5:49pmCandle Lighting Night 8: 6:47pmHavdala: 6:48pm All nights except Night 1 and Night 7 are lit from a pre-existing flame. If you need a 7-day candle, please reply to this e-mail to…
Shabbat VayikraCandle Lighting: 5:34pmHavdala: 6:31pm
Shabbat Vayakhel-Pekudei – Parshat haChodeshCandle Lighting: 5:28pmHavdala: 6:25pm
Shabbat Ki Tisa – Parshat ParahCandle Lighting: 5:22pmHavdala: 6:19pm
Shabbat VayetzeCandle Lighting: 4:10pmHavdala: 5:09pm
Shabbat ToldotCandle Lighting: 4:13pmHavdala: 5:11pm
Shabbat Chol HaMoed SukkotCandle Lighting: 4:54pmHavdala: 5:49pm Sukkot Second DaysCandle Lighting Monday night: 4:50pmCandle Lighting Tuesday night: 5:45pmHavdala Wednesday night: 5:44pm
Shabbat Parshat VayelechCandle Lighting: 5:14pmHavdala: 6:09pm
Shabbat Parshat NitzavimCandle Lighting: 5:24pmHavdala: 6:19pm Rosh HashanaCandle Lighting Night 1: 5:20pmCandle Lighting Night 2: 6:15pmHavdala: 6:13pm
Shabbat Parshat BamidbarCandle Lighting: 6:32pmHavdala: 7:35pm ShavuotCandle Lighting: 6:33pmCandle Lighting: 7:37pmHavdala: 7:37pm
Shabbat Parshat Behar-BechukotaiCandle Lighting: 6:27pmHavdala: 7:30pm
Shabbat Parshat Achrei Mot-KedoshimCandle Lighting: 5:58pmHavdala: 6:58pm
Shabbat Passover Last DaysCandle Lighting Friday night: 5:58pmCandle Lighting Saturday night: 6:57pmHavdala Sunday night: 6:58pm
Shabbat haGadol Parshat TzavCandle Lighting Friday night: 5:52pmCandle Lighting Yom Tov Saturday night: 6:51pmCandle Lighting Yom Tov Sunday night: 6:52pmHavdala Monday night: 6:53pm
Greetings from Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Several months ago, our community received an invitation to the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism from Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. If you haven’t been following the Jewish blogosphere, the conference proved immensely controversial before it even began due to the invitation of European politicians…
Shabbat Parshat YitroCandle Lighting: 5:03pmHavdala: 6:01pm
During the past 30 years, Israel and Egypt have waged war. But for the past 16 months, these same two great nations have waged peace. Today we celebrate a victory, not of a bloody military campaign, but of an inspiring peace campaign.-President Jimmy Carter at the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty Signing Ceremony There may be no…
Abba, why don’t we celebrate Christmas? Is it because we’re not Japanese?-Asher on the way home from hoikuen The first night of Hanukkah falling out on December 25 will undoubtedly lead to social media posts about how many Christmas songs were written by Jews in early 20th century America. The story is well-trod, well-known and…
If you thought the Hanukkah story represented an epic battle pitting gyro-eating Greek soldiers against their falafel-devouring Israeli nemeses, you’d be wrong. King Antiochus IV was less Aegean than Seleucid which is a fancy way of saying Syrian-Greek. The Seleucid Empire’s capital was not Athens or Thebes but Antioch, located in northwestern Syria. The misconception…
In an imagined conversation with his great-great grandfather, Rabbi David Wolpe shares “We’re having a tough time at Harvard.” His ancestor, flabbergasted, interrupts him to blurt out, “There are Jews at Harvard?” Rabbi Wolpe continues, “Yeah, but there’s a lot of hatred of Israel.” Rabbi Wolpe’s great-great grandfather again interjects to exclaim, “There’s an Israel?!”…
The cultural spheres of sport and religion mixed recently when Jake Retzlaff, a proud Jew, became the starting quarterback for the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars. The fiercely Zionistic, unquestionably Mormon institution of higher (4,500 feet above sea level) learning might just be the safest school to be Jewish anywhere in the United States of…
The JCC is swimming in Scholars-in-Residence. While other synagogues empty their treasuries hosting thought leaders, we are fortunate to exchange only a taste of Izaki-san’s challah, an Ikea mattress and a roof overhead. Who says inbound tourism doesn’t have benefits? On Friday night December 13, we will welcome Noah Notis, Princeton alum and current PhD…
Given our isolated location, the Jews of Japan have historically been disconnected from the rest of the Jewish world. There are a few exceptions, namely the nascent Nagasaki community’s late 19th century relationship with Ohel Moshe Synagogue in Shanghai and former JCJ president Anatol Ponve’s selfless work rescuing European refugees from the Shoah. But in…
Join us on Sunday, December 8, for an exclusive Japan performance as Lenka Lichtenberg and her ensemble will perform songs from her award winning albums Thieves of Dreams + Silent Tears, the Last Yiddish Tango and other songs written during the Holocaust. ‘Silent Tears, The Last Yiddish Tango’ is a concert program based on testimonies…
Nearly every Jewish person in Japan has heard of Chiune Sugihara, the only Nihonjin recognized in Yad VaShem’s Righteous Among the Nations. The story is typically told as a Japanese diplomat going rogue in Kovno, Lithuania to issue visas over the objection of his bosses in Tokyo losing his job but saving the lives of…
As the JCC’s Monegasque Dior devotee likes to remind your fashionably challenged rabbi, the best way to spruce up an outfit is to accessorize. When you look at Jewish celebrations, it becomes apparent that the Sages of Olde have known this for thousands of years. Jewish holidays are filled with accessories: Graggers/noisemakers on Purim, dreidels/spinning…
***Note updated times: Erev Simchat Torah on 10/24 will begin at 5:15pm. Kabbalat Shabbat on 10/25 will begin at 5:00pm with dinner to follow. Please register for Sukkot meals ASAP https://jccjapan.jp/high-holidays-2024/ *** Before arriving in Japan, I asked a rabbinic predecessor whether getting the four species (lulav/etrog) for Sukkot ‘just happens’ at the JCC. His…
***Note time changes: Erev Simchat Torah on 10/24 will begin at 5:15pm. Kabbalat Shabbat on 10/25 will begin at 5:00pm with dinner to follow. Please register for Yom Kippur and Sukkot ASAP https://jccjapan.jp/high-holidays-2024/ *** Kol Nidre, perhaps the greatest known prayer and melody in the High Holiday liturgy was described by Lord Chief Rabbi Jonathan…
***Note time changes below. Erev Rosh Hashana Services begin at 6:00pm. Simchat Torah Night begin at 5:15pm. Please register for High Holidays ASAP https://jccjapan.jp/high-holidays-2024/ *** The calendar for 5785 will be immensely complicated on the personal and communal levels with one exception. Rosh Hashana’s falling out on Wednesday night means that (outside of Israel) three…
***Please register for High Holidays ASAP https://jccjapan.jp/high-holidays-2024/ *** The Rosh Hashana service seems custom built for those who prefer arriving fashionably late to the synagogue. The introductory prayers, while beautiful, do not nearly approach the weight attached to the blowing of the shofar which is heard much later in the liturgy. Why delay blowing the…
Join us after Shabbat dinner in the Sukkah as JCJ member Eva Izsak-Niimura discusses her recently published book Songs My Mother Taught Me on Friday, October 18 from 8:00 pm. Songs My Mother Taught Me follows the narrator, confronted with the imminent death of her mother, on a voyage to share the final leg of…
The first thing you need to know about making a shofar is that it smells terrible. Really god-awful. If you’ve ever picked up a shofar at a Judaica store or even one that’s been sitting in a synagogue cabinet for 20 years, you might have noticed the formidable scent that stings the nostrils not always…
***Comedy Show at JCC tonight. 8pm English 9pm Hebrew*** Toronto’s visionary 20th century Rabbi Gedaliah Felder received an interesting question in one of the earlier pulpits he served. A congregant asked whether he and his wife could celebrate their 50th (Golden) wedding anniversary with a big party and a renewal of vows. Despite his ecumenical…
From Mort Sahl to Seth Rogen, Canadian Jews have taken full advantage of the Rush-Bagot Agreement to bring their comedic stylings south to the United States, Hollywood and beyond. Whether it was Rick Moranis exclaiming ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids!’, Howie Mandel’s voicing Gizmo in the 1980s ‘Gremlins’ franchise or more recently Eugene Levy’s performance…
***Newsletter on hiatus through mid-September. Please check for upcoming event and High Holiday emails.*** The video of Noa Argamani being abducted to Gaza by Hamas terrorists on October 7th resonated viscerally throughout the entire world. As a journalist described the scene, “A hand outstretched, terror etched on her face, screaming as she is carried away…
אם־אשכחך ירושלים תשכח ימיני:תדבק־לשוני לחכי אם־לא אזכרכי אם־לא אעלה את־ירושלים על ראש שמחתי:If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither;Let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you,if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour.-Psalm 137:5-6 The verses, traditionally sung prior to…
Join us as resident expert Michael Sloyer hosts an exclusive workshop on Enneagram Personality Types for the JCJ community. Why do you react the way that you do? Do you really understand yourself as much as you think you do?To help us realize our full potential, we must start by understanding ourselves completely – our…
***Newsletter on hiatus until mid-August*** Two years ago this week, Japan lost arguably the greatest statesman of the postwar era, Shinzo Abe z”l. The loss was acutely felt by members of the Jewish community globally and closer to home. Just months prior to Abe-san’s assassination, the JCC hosted his wife Akie-san for a charity event.…
***Newsletter on hiatus next week*** “I had Shabbos dinner with Cohn. He served kugel and it was with a guilty conscience that I ate this holy national dish, which has done more to preserve Judaism than all three issues of the Zeitschrift.”-Heinrich Heine, letter to Moses Moser, December 19, 1825 The Jewish fascination with casseroles…
It is no secret that the great state of Georgia’s Jewish community is thriving. The once mighty Northeast, Midwest and West Coast Jewish-American strongholds are giving way to young families who prefer the South’s lower cost of living and easygoing nature. Georgia is home to one of the oldest congregations in the United States, Mickve…
We have an exciting line-up of events over summer break leading up to the High Holidays (which are October this year)! Mark your calendars now! There are many events planned, so keep a watch out for those JCJ emails. Register for events here: https://jccjapan.jp/event-registration Violins and HopeFrom the Holocaust to the Symphony Hall: a photographic…
Scholars of JCC B’nai Mitzvah newsletters have explored the San Francisco gold rush before flying over the plains of Iowa and Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago to spend some time with Roberto Clemente z”l in Pittsburgh. Not stopping in the rust belt, we’ve driven across Pennsyltucky taking the Garden State Parkway to Newark Airport on the way…
57 years ago this week, Colonel Motta Gur announced into a loudspeaker from a unified Jerusalem “All company commanders, we are sitting right now on the ridge. Shortly we are going into the Old City of Jerusalem that all generations have dreamed about. Eitan’s tanks will advance on the left and enter the Lion’s Gate.…
It is impossible to understand the current Israeli political landscape without knowing the progenitor of the phrase ‘Never Again’: Rabbi Meir Kahane. Usually taken by Jews to signify the importance of maintaining constant vigilance against antisemitism or in the broader world as a bulwark against genocide writ large, Kahane meant something else entirely when he…
The Jews of Iowa bear their citizenship in the Republic and in the commonwealth with dignity and honor…It gives me great pleasure to say for the Jews of Iowa that they are potent factors in our business, faithful defenders of peace and order and staunch advocates of all the principles of good government. –Albert Cummins,…
Join us as guest speaker Daniel Levin discusses his award-winning photography book documenting the man and work of Israeli master luthier (violin maker) Amnon Weinstein. Forty years ago Amnon began a project to restore violins that survived the concentration camps and ghettos of the holocaust, even when their owners often did not. Just over 100…
You could fill a library with books focused solely on the Jews of New York’s Lower East Side. So too the ‘Shalom Y’all’ subgenre that expounds on the Jewish peddlers who hawked their wares across the American South. The same is true for the Rust Belt, West Coast and even Canada, eh? But for some…
Before becoming Israel’s first General, David ‘Mickey’ Marcus had already graduated West Point and Brooklyn Law School, prosecuted Lucky Luciano, served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction, negotiated the surrender of Fascist Italy, parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, provided for millions of Displaced Persons in Europe and planned legal and security…
Join us for a delightful culinary journey at our upcoming Jewish cooking class! Get ready to roll up your sleeves and indulge in the art of cooking in our cozy and fun gathering. In this intimate setting, limited to just 12 participants, you’ll have the opportunity to master the secrets of two mouthwatering dishes: Tagine…
***Please sign up for our Yom HaShoah ceremony on Sunday evening, May 5th at 6:30pm: https://jccjapan.jp/event-registration/No newsletter next week*** Japan’s role in the Shoah usually begins and ends with a discussion about Righteous Among the Nations Chiune Sugihara who as a young diplomat in Kovno, Lithuana issued visas saving thousands of Jewish souls. While the…
Perhaps no Passover dish is more iconic than matzah ball soup. With recipes going back hundreds of years to the old country or pulled more recently from a box of Manischewitz mix, the combination of matzah meal, egg, water, oil and maybe a drop of schmaltz embodies the taste of Passover itself. Strange thing then…
The late 2000s/early 2010s brought a wave of pop psychology fads that sought to make complicated ideas more digestible but in subversively simplistic ways. Gurus like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Ariely told the world that if people only worked 10,000 hours towards a goal and happened to be born in the right month, they too…
Bagels. Lox. Kreplach. Challah. Stuffed Cabbage. Not all of the foods most closely associated with Jewish cuisine possess distinct Jewish origins. The forerunner to the modern bagel was first baked in the 14th century as a large, round and twisted piece of bread with a hole inside known as Obwarzanek. The boiled and baked doughy…
If not for a few hanging chads in Florida at the turn of the millenium, America may have gotten its first Jewish vice president. The passing of Senator Joe Lieberman calls to mind a different era in American politics when the nation’s biggest concern was how to spend the budget surplus and the idea of…
Many a rabbi cringes at the description of Purim as Jewish Halloween. Although there are doubtless similarities between the two, namely the focus on candy and costumes, the differences are vast. As a sort of teachable moment, Hebrew School educators will make an important distinction between the two holidays to their students. Halloween’s trick-or-treaters threaten…
Did Moses drink beer? It all boils down to one He’Brew word: שכר (pronounced shay-khar) Mentioned six times in the Torah, the translation of שכר has been hotly debated for thousands of years. Before you think these were just a bunch of rabbis in Babylon getting wasted on the synagogue’s dime before engaging in abstract…
***In honor of International Women’s Day, the JCC welcomes Israeli attorney and public policy specialist Ayelet Razin Bet Or to address us on Friday evening at 8:30pm. The topic of the lecture and discussion will be wide-ranging but with specific focus on women’s rights in Israel. All are welcome.*** “Resolved that we, Jewish women, sincerely…
An inquiry email from an Angeleno landed in the JCC inbox this week: “Shalom. I will be visiting in March and wanted to know if there are any Israeli dancing classes anywhere?” What followed was a fierce debate in the office as to whether ‘Israeli Dancing’ as a concept even exists. The American and Israeli…
Not since February 2016 has the calendrical oddity known as a leap year occurred simultaneously in the Jewish and secular world. The Gregorian calendar adds an extra day every four years giving children born on February 29th, known as leaplings, an extra bureaucratic nightmare to deal with for the rest of their lives. The Hebrew…
Monday morning’s dramatic rescue of two Argentinian-Israeli captives provides much-needed hope that the remaining 101 hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza will return to Israel. Norberto Louis Har and Fernando Marman had been kidnapped together on October 7th with three female family members who were released in November. The reunification represents an echo…
***Please RSVP for Adam Berman’s Bar Mitzvah Lunch THIS Saturday 2/3 on our Events Page *** The Season 8 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm when Larry finalizes his divorce from Cheryl contains a hilarious scene where Larry’s lawyer Andrew Berg, who keeps a shofar on his desk and a mezuzah on his office door, is…
***Please RSVP for Adam Berman’s Bar Mitzvah Lunch next Saturday 2/3 on our Events Page: https://jccjapan.jp/event-registration/ *** Scholar. Soldier. Rabbi. Vegetarian. Japanophile? These and many other superlatives are often attributed to Shlomo Goren, the first Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces (1948-1968). Born in Poland 1917, Shlomo Goren emigrated in 1925 to the budding…
As Jewish fans of Sumo (no, we don’t call ourselves Jew-mos) get ready for the second week of Ryogoku Kokugikan’s January Tournament, the question inevitably comes up. Has there ever been a Jewish sumo wrestler? Although the JCC has not yet served the Sumo Stew known as Chanko Nabe, Judaism provides a substitute in the…
Yitgadal v’Yitkadash Shmay Raba… Even a less than occasional synagogue attendee is likely familiar with the four-word introduction to the Mourner’s Kaddish. The prayer whose centrality to the service cannot be overstated is a surprisingly recent addition to Jewish liturgy, arriving in its current form less than 1,000 years ago. While that may sound like…
Join us for an evening of soul nourishing jazz music with JCJ member Selim Benba. Back by popular demand, Selim will play popular jazz standards by famous Jewish composers such as Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Victor Young, etc. as well as old Jewish favorites. Light refreshments will be available and wine can be purchased for…
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