Latest Judaism News
In a calendar rarity, Hanukkah starts this year on Christmas Day
Hanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can...
What to know about Hanukkah and how it's celebrated around the world
Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew — is Judaism’s “festival of lights.” On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah — a multibranched candelabra. In Hebrew,...
As wars rage around them, Armenian Christians in Jerusalem's Old City feel the walls closing in
JERUSALEM (AP) — As the war in Gaza rages, Syria's government transforms, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank seethes, Armenian residents of the Old City of Jerusalem fight a different battle — one that is quieter, they say, but no less existential. One of the oldest communities...
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff brings touchdowns and Jewish teachings to predominantly Mormon school
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Shortly after sunset on Saturday, Rabbi Chaim Zippel clasped an overflowing cup of wine and a tin of smelling spices as he marked the end of the Sabbath with a small Jewish congregation at his home near Provo, which doubles as the county’s only synagogue. The...
The Temple of Satan gains ground in Chile as faith in traditional religions wanes
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — It’s Friday night in Downtown Santiago, the capital of Chile, and a group of 15 people gather around a table, sharing a bottle of wine as the smell of tobacco and incense fill the air. Black candles burn on top of an altar decorated with chalices and knives. The members...
Fallout from 2023 Hamas attack lingers as Jews worldwide observe a holiday meant for joy
NEW YORK (AP) — Customarily, Simchat Torah is one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar, highlighted by exuberant dancing around a Torah. Jewish leaders say the joy will return during this week's celebrations, even as Jews recall that last year's Simchat Torah overlapped with Oct. 7, the...
Hurricane Milton disrupts Yom Kippur plans for Jews in Florida
WINTER PARK, Florida (AP) — Many Jews worldwide will mark Yom Kippur in fasting and prayer at their synagogues this weekend. But for the faithful in Florida, destructive Hurricane Milton has disrupted plans for observing the Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the year in the...
Thousands of Jewish pilgrims come to Ukraine for Rosh Hashana despite official warnings
UMAN, Ukraine (AP) — Prayer chants and the sounding of traditional ram's horns fill the air in the town of Uman, in central Ukraine, as thousands of pilgrims join an annual gathering to mark the Jewish new year, despite the war against Russia. Uman, 200 kilometers (125 miles)...
Are LGBTQ Jews welcome in Orthodox communities? This is how they are building spaces of their own
It was a heart-wrenching choice. But when Daniel Gammerman decided to never set foot back in an Orthodox synagogue, he thought of it as an act of love. Not toward the Jewish community he was born into, but to himself. “A synagogue is a spiritual place, but it’s also a community...
Man is sentenced to 35 years for shooting 2 Jewish men as they left Los Angeles synagogues
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year, federal prosecutors said. Jaime Tran, 30, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of hate crimes with intent to...
