James Rudin
James Rudin is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by James Rudin
COMMENTARY: Back to basics
By James Rudin — December 5, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The basic messages of religious holidays always remain the same, but the humans who celebrate those holidays are constantly changing. As a result, each year we bring something different to our holy days. How we observe those special days provides insight about us as individuals as well as offering […]
COMMENTARY: Coming clean about my criminal record
By James Rudin — November 21, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Recently my daughter uttered words on the phone that melt every grandparent’s heart: “Your grandchild is eager to speak with you.”When Emma came on the line, she said her third grade class is studying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the civil rights struggle. In a worried voice […]
COMMENTARY: Time to tighten the belt
By James Rudin — November 7, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service(UNDATED) During the current economic crisis, the public has focused on a lengthy litany of woes: stomach-churning stock market declines, housing foreclosures, shrinking retirement pensions, frozen credit lines, growing unemployment … need I go on?Because this economic meltdown is so pervasive, every aspect of our personal and national life is impacted, […]
COMMENTARY: On this date in history …
By James Rudin — October 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In an extraordinary and eerie coincidence, four significant events that still impact us today took place in Germany on either Nov. 9 or 10. Nov. 10 marks the 525th birthday of Martin Luther, the great Protestant Reformer. Early in his career, he wrote in positive terms about the Jewish […]
A photo of Rabbi Rudin is available via religionnews.com.: COMMENTARY: ISO: New leadership for l
By James Rudin — October 10, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Imagine that the four politicians running for president and vice president were clergy seeking to lead a large diverse congregation instead of our nation. Here’s what the minutes of a congregational search committee might look like: 1. John, in his early 70s, is the oldest of those being considered. […]
Setting a rich table for the Jewish holidays
By James Rudin — September 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) “Now God saw all that had been made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning; the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31). While many people may question the literal accuracy of the biblical creation account, there is no doubt a new economic world was recently […]
COMMENTARY: High Holidays at fast forward
By James Rudin — September 12, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It is once again the season of the biblically ordained Jewish High Holidays when Jews attend synagogue services in large numbers and absent themselves from work and school. Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) begins at sundown on Sept. 29 and ends 48 hours later; Yom Kippur (the Day of […]
COMMENTARY: Census report shows the times they are a-changin’
By James Rudin — August 29, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) While politicians argue whether “change” is coming to America, there’s no doubt real demographic change is happening right now. The Census Bureau recently reported that ethnic and racial minorities are rapidly growing in numbers. In just 15 years, the bureau predicts, the majority of America’s children under the age […]
A sports lover’s schizophrenia
By James Rudin — August 15, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I suffer from a unique form of schizophrenia: hatred of the Olympics and respect for the athletes. Unfortunately, being a member of university track and wrestling teams and a college sports editor did not provide immunity to this condition. There are many causes for my Olympic malady: religious and […]
COMMENTARY: Russia reawakens
By James Rudin — August 1, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) My wife Marcia and I recently returned from a two-week river cruise between Moscow and St. Petersburg with four stops along the way. Even a brief visit confirmed Winston Churchill’s description of Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” With that in mind, here is […]
COMMENTARY: Brand identity (crisis)
By James Rudin — July 18, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) At first blush, General Motors and the Jewish Theological Seminary _ two storied icons of industry and religion _ seem to have little in common. GM is the world’s largest auto manufacturer, and JTS is the central institution for Conservative Judaism. Since 1908, GM has produced millions of cars […]
A firm believer in American belief
By James Rudin — July 4, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In late June, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released the latest findings from their comprehensive study on the religious beliefs and practices of 35,000 Americans. The study contains some remarkable findings about American belief. For starters, researchers found that 92 percent of Americans believe in some […]
COMMENTARY: And now to our correspondent in Jerusalem …
By James Rudin — June 20, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The television coverage of this year’s presidential election features a large number of talking heads who chatter daily about the perceived winners and losers on the political battleground. Some talking heads are respected journalists and academics, but most are simply “Inside the Beltway” types labeled as either Democratic or […]
COMMENTARY: Jews and the New Testament: Never an easy encounter
By James Rudin — June 6, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Last month in Israel, a group of Christian missionaries distributed copies of the New Testament to Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in the city of Or Yehuda, a center of Orthodox Judaism near Tel Aviv. In response, some enraged Jewish seminary students burned copies of the New Testament. The Israeli government […]
COMMENTARY: Another look at the Ten Commandments
By James Rudin — May 23, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Jewish holiday of Shavuot (the Hebrew word for “weeks”) begins at sundown on June 8 and concludes 48 hours later. Shavuot occurs seven weeks and one day after Passover, and commemorates when Moses received the Torah, including the Ten Commandments, on Mount Sinai 50 days after the Exodus […]
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