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While “A Life of Meaning: Embracing Reform Judaism’s Sacred Path” contains 56 pieces about different aspects of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Dana Kaplan says the book is not “what Reform Judaism says about…” Kaplan, who has served as rabbi of Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile, edited […]

With a large Jewish student population, Tulane University has always had close ties with Israeli institutions. In June, Tulane President Michael Fitts made his first visit to Israel as part of a 17-member delegation of university presidents, seeking to further boost bilateral academic research and […]

While there may not be 76,468 people attending the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans’ Annual Celebration this year, it will still be a Superdome-sized event. The Oct. 10 celebration will be held on the field of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, starting at 6:30 p.m. The […]

Rabbi Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner at the Chanukah ceremony in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, December 2016. Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson announced that Rabbi Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner has requested not to have his contract, which ends in the summer of 2019, renewed. In a letter to the congregation, […]

Sam Baker of Scottsdale, Ariz. made his book debut in April, penning a story that was inspired from his childhood in Clarksdale, Miss. “It’s been fun writing” the book, “The Silly Adventures of Petunia and Herman the Worm,” he said. The 95-year-old author then added, […]

As the Torahs are paraded around the sanctuary at Birmingham’s Knesseth Israel on Simchat Torah this year, it will likely be the last time such a procession will be held in that building. The state’s only non-Chabad Orthodox congregation will be moving out of the […]

After 34 years on the pulpit of Gates of Prayer in Metairie, there are plenty of stories about Rabbi Robert Loewy. Many of those “shared experiences” were related at a gala weekend on May 11 and 12, celebrating Loewy’s retirement from the pulpit and “promotion” […]

Rabbi Eric Berk will become the new rabbi at Huntsville’s Temple B’nai Sholom. The Reform congregation made the announcement following a July 15 special meeting. Since 2009, Berk has been the rabbi at Skirball Hospice, a program of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the […]

Joshua Bonadona (photo courtesy Hendrix College) It’s an age-old debate: Can Jews be regarded as a race? According to a ruling in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Louisiana, when it comes to an employment discrimination case, the answer can be yes. U.S. Magistrate […]