Rabbi Speaks at Muslim Convention

At the opening of the 44^th annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention last Friday, Rabbi Yoffei, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, gave a speech encouraging Jews and Muslims to work towards an open dialogue so that “they can inspire and strengthen one another to fight fanatics and work to promote the values of justice and love that are common to both faiths.”

Educating Americans about the true nature of Islam, and fighting against the stereotypes portrayed in the media was also the focus of Yoffei’s speech. Moreover, he encourages education about Judaism in order to combat anti-Semitism.

My favorite part of his speech was when he said, “you cannot honor a religion of peace through violence; you cannot honor God if you do not honor the image of God in every human being; and you cannot get to heaven by creating hell on earth.” You can read his entire speech here.

The Union For Reform Judaism includes more than 900 congregations and 1.5 million Jews, while the ISNA convention included around 30,000 people.

Or is Barbie Already Jewish?

If you enjoy the Jewish Barbie doll, and even if you don't, you may also enjoy "The Tribe," "an unorthodox, unauthorized history of the Jewish people and the Barbie doll... in about 15 minutes." The film is a wonderful statement on Judaism today, seen through what seems to be a stream of consciousness about the history of the Barbie doll. It is entertaining, amusing, and quite powerful. Watch the trailer here.

Barbie Discovers Her Jewish Identity

When I was reading The Jewish Week today I noticed an article about a new barbie doll that has been created, one that is an Orthodox Jew. The Barbie comes complete with tefillin, tallit, leather straps, siddur, and Steinsaltz Gemara, and will even come with a Torah scroll for an extra charge. Jen Friedman, the creator of the doll, came up with the idea through conversations with her friends. She states that “we thought it would be fun to put tefillin on a Barbie.” And that's exactly what she did. So far only 2 have been made, the first one being sold on ebay for $150. She will have to make more because she has at least 20 more outstanding orders.

The creator describes herself as a “post-demoninational, halachically observant Jew” who believes in gender equality. This is of course evident in her doll, who she describes as a Modern Orthodox Jew and wears all the prayer items that men traditionally would. Jen states on her website though that the doll is not comfortable in a kippah, and hence wears a beret. I'm not sure I've figured out the reasoning behind this yet.

The profits from the doll go towards making tefillin available to women who would otherwise not be able to buy their own.

If you want to find out more, visit Jen Friedman’s website.