Source: The Baltimore Sun

On March 12, 1999, The Baltimore Sun published an article on the third annual "Shabbat Across America," which is an event sponsored by the National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP) to offer a traditional Shabbat service on this Friday to non-religious or marginally religious Jews in over 700 synagogues across the United States and Canada. The event is a united effort by the four major Jewish branches and is offered in response to the growing J2K (Jewish 2000) problem. Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, founder and director of NJOP, stated that...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On February 27, 1999, The Arizona Republic reported on the formation of the North American Boards of Rabbis, which is a new federation of local rabbinical boards that includes the four major branches of Judaism. A similar organization, the Synagogue Council of America, fell apart five years ago because of differences among the Orthodox. Marc Schneier, who is president of the metropolitan New York Board of Rabbis, was chosen as the first president of the new organization.

Source: The Indianapolis Star

On February 20, 1999, The Indianapolis Star reported on e18hteen, a Jewish alternative rock band, that is set to play in Indianapolis on February 27th. e18hteen's music celebrates Jewish values and songs are written in both Hebrew and English. Their newer collection is mostly in Hebrew, including music from Jewish Sabbath liturgy. e18hteen, which formed in 1996, has performed nationwide in Jewish community centers, Jewish youth conferences, and Hillel houses. Dan Nichols, a members of e18hteen, stated: "All music is about...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 13, 1999, the Los Angeles Times featured Temple Beth Torah, the oldest Jewish Congregation in Ventura County, CA. The Reform temple is headed by two rabbis, Lisa Hochberg-Miller and her husband Seth Hochberg-Miller, where Lisa oversees community outreach programs and Seth oversees the temple's Torah school. The temple engages in programs with other churches to help house the homeless, offers a Lifetime Learning Course for adult mitzvah students, and recently hosted its second annual All Faiths Women of Vision Conference...

Source: The New York Times

On January 28, 1999, The New York Times reported on a Jewish news and culture web site, www.virtualjerusalem.com, which collects prayers from people around the world to be put into the Western Wall in Jerusalem. An employee of the site, which is based in Jerusalem, picks up daily printouts of prayers from the site and places them in the crevices of the Western Wall. Virtual Jerusalem was created for all English-speaking Jews as a way to bring Israel and Jewish culture to a worldwide...

Source: The New York Times

On January 27, 1999, The New York Times reported on the Pope's specific attention to Catholic-Jewish relations. With a rabbi reading scripture at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. Louis and a Polish-born Jew as an official guest, Catholic-Jewish relations have advanced a great deal over the course of John Paul's papacy. Rabbi A. James Rudin, the inter-religious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee, stated that, "it's a tangible sign, in the heart of America, that this Pope reaches out, especially to Jews, wherever...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On January 22, 1999, The Baltimore Sun reported on the Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah, a congregation begun in September of 1998 for Secular Humanist Jews. The Secular Humanistic Jewish movement, which celebrates Jewish cultural history without a belief in God, began about 150 years ago in Eastern Europe and was brought over to the United States in the Great Migration from the 1880s to the 1920s. There are approximately 40,000 Secular Humanist Jews living in North America.

Source: Newsday

On January 18, 1999, Newsday reported on the 14th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ecumenical Celebration, which was held this year at the Sons of Israel Synagogue in Woodmere, NY. Approximately 500 Jews, Christians, and Muslims attended the celebration with speakers representing all three religions.

Source: The Buffalo News

On January 2, 1999, the Buffalo News published an article on the Catholic-Jewish Educational Enrichment Program, which is an effort to educate students in Catholic and Jewish schools about each other's faith. This program is in place in Philadelphia and similar programs exist in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. It involves a teacher-exchange situation, where a Rabbi visits to a Catholic school and a Priest visits to a Jewish school. The Catholic-Jewish Educational Enrichment Program is funded by the Righteous...

Source: The Washington Post

On December 14, 1998, the Washington Post reported that the National Menorah on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. was lit at nightfall on Sunday, December 13th. The National Menorah stands 30 feet in height, the maximum allowable under Jewish Law, and in front of the National Christmas Tree.

Source: The New York Times

On December 5, 1998, the New York Times reported that the American Friends of Lubavitch, a Hasidic Jewish sect headquartered in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has set up a website - www.chanukah98.com - to broadcast simultaneously the lighting of menorahs in Jerusalem, Moscow, New York, and Paris at 3:15pm (Eastern time) on Sunday, December 13th.

Source: Sun-Sentinel

On October 23, 1998, the Sun-Sentinel issued an article about a series of events to take place at the Temple Beth El of Hollywood, Florida from October 30th - November 5th exploring the relationship between Judaism and Tibetan Buddhism. The events will be based around a set of screenings for a new film entitled, "The Jew in the Lotus," which is based on a 1995 book by poet Rodger Kamenetz. The book tells of a 1990 journey of eight Jewish leaders to meet with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. On October 31st, Temple Beth El hosted...

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On October 21, 1998, The Chicago Sun-Times issued an article concerning the new "Rabbi's Manual", which is published for 750 Conservative synagogues in North America and 200 other synagogues worldwide. The new Manual, an updating of the 1965 edition, establishes a "grieving ritual" for couples after abortions and includes gender-neutral language. Rabbi Reuven Frankel of B'nai Tikvah Synagogue in Deerfield, Illinois, approves of the changes: "It's a very necessary updating....Necessity is sometimes determined by new perceived...

Source: The Boston Globe

On October 4, 1998,The Boston Globe published an article which reported on the response of an act of anti-Semitism in the small town of Presque Isle, Maine. At the Aroostook Hebrew Community Center, swastikas were found painted on either side of the entrance doorway with the words "Burn Jews" written under one of them. This was discovered just days before Rosh Hashana services were set to begin. The congregation, numbering about 20 people, swelled to over four times its size for Rosh Hashana services to support the local temple...

Source: The Detroit News

The Detroit News published an article on September 29, 1998 entitled "Russian Jews find freedom to worship: Immigrant families feel new joy in being able to mark Yom Kippur."