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PHILISSA CRAMER
Alex Goldstein curates the Faces of COVID Twitter account, which showcases Americans who have died in the pandemic. (Illustration by Grace Yagel/ JTA)
October 17, 2020, 3:03 am
Man behind Faces of COVID Twitter account tweets to make US confront its grief
Amplifying Judaism’s communal approach to mourning, Alex Goldstein has memorialized thousands of coronavirus victims and gathered 80,000 followers since March
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Palm Beach County School principal William Latson, October 31, 2019. (WPTV Screen grab via CNN)
October 9, 2020, 12:13 am
Florida school rehires principal who refused to say the Holocaust happened
After court ruled that William Latson should have been reprimanded rather than fired, Boca Raton high school narrowly votes to reinstate him in administrative position
By PHILISSA CRAMER
The video of Bibi Shapiro singing "Avinu Malkeinu" was played during online Yom Kippur services through New York's Central Synagogue, September 28, 2020 (Screenshot from YouTube via JTA)
September 30, 2020, 8:29 am
Kid whose ‘Avinu Malkeinu’ went viral sings at NY synagogue Yom Kippur service
6-year-old Bibi Shapiro from South Africa participates in online service at Central Synagogue after video circulates widely of him singing a children’s version of the prayer
By PHILISSA CRAMER
An ultra Orthodox Jewish man of the Zvhil (Hasidic dynasty) "whips" another with a leather belt as a symbolic punishment for his sins during the traditional "Malkot" ceremony, a few hours before the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holy day of Atonement, in a synagogue in the ultra orthodox neighborhoods of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, September 27, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 28, 2020, 7:10 pm
A pandemic judgment day: Yom Kippur marked worldwide in shadow of COVID-19
The holiest day in the Jewish calendar has the potential to prove a superspreader event, much like Purim was in March
By Shira Hanau and PHILISSA CRAMER
An airplane circles Melbourne, Australia, September 27, 2020, for locked-down Jews who could not conduct the pre-Yom Kippur ritual of kapparot. (Youtube screenshot)
September 27, 2020, 9:22 pm
Airborne Yom Kippur ritual for locked down Melbourne Jews
An enterprising philanthropist arranges a symbolic Kapparot flypast
By PHILISSA CRAMER
People gather at the US Supreme Court on the morning after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
September 23, 2020, 1:48 pm
Zoom Kaddish, virtual ‘guarding’: Jews adapt burial rituals to mourn Ginsburg
Online gathering organized to give participants the chance to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish for deceased jurist, a rite traditionally reserved for immediate family
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Rabbi Matt Soffer blows the shofar in remembrance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sept. 19, 2020. (Screen capture/Facebook via JTA)
September 22, 2020, 5:37 pm
Shortened shofar blasts, quick sermon tweaks: How RGB’s death altered holiday
NYC cantor sings Psalm 150 to tune of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah,’ NJ rabbi replaces prerecorded haftarah with recitation of Ginsburg’s words set to notes of a Torah reading
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Alex Edelman has embarked on several Jewish comedy projects during the pandemic. (Will Bremridge)
September 19, 2020, 5:35 pm
Jewish comedian helps rabbis nail delivery on High Holidays services
Alex Edelman, 31, has been guiding rabbis on how to add humor and levity to their now-online programming
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Worshipers dance late into the night at Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn after Selichot services early on Sunday, September 13, 2020. (Screenshot from livestream/via JTA)
September 13, 2020, 10:02 pm
Packed prayers at Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn raise virus alarm
Doctors issue warning after Saturday night selichot services at iconic 770 Eastern Parkway site crowded with worshipers, many without masks
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Hiram Epstein, center, is a character who appears as a ghost in the third episode of 'Lovecraft Country.' (Screenshot/via JTA)
September 8, 2020, 2:59 am
Why does HBO’s anti-racist ‘Lovecraft Country’ stumble into anti-Semitic tropes?
Changing the name of a key character responsible for gruesome experimentation on Black victims, the series ends up with echoes of a blood libel, which led to centuries of pogroms
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Jessica Krug (Duke University Press)
September 4, 2020, 11:30 pm
Professor who faked Afro-Latina identity went to Kansas City Jewish day school
Jessica Krug attended Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and her family belonged to Congregation Ohev Sholom in suburban Prairie Village
By PHILISSA CRAMER
To create a pre-recorded online service, Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann, center, and musicians and singers from Mishkan Chicago recorded the songs and prayers of the High Holidays in August. (Courtesy of See3 Digital Events/ via JTA)
September 1, 2020, 2:12 am
US Jews prepare for pandemic-era High Holiday season of rupture and resilience
Many congregations opt for virtual services, while some Orthodox ones will have short in-person prayers, but COVID-19 is testing commitment across the religious spectrum
By Shira Hanau and PHILISSA CRAMER
Former British chief rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (United Synagogue via JTA)
August 28, 2020, 9:49 am
Lord Sacks says US rabbis making ‘big mistake’ with political endorsements
Former UK chief rabbi warns against mixing politics and Judaism: ‘You get terrible politics and even worse religion’
By PHILISSA CRAMER
TikTok user Mallory Palmer created a mashup of sea lion and shofar calls that has gone semi-viral. (Screenshot)
August 25, 2020, 1:07 pm
Start the High Holiday season with this sea lion-shofar mashup
Teenaged TikTok user Mallory Palmer’s pre-Rosh Hashanah post garners nearly 72,000 views (and counting)
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Ron Bloom speaks during the daily White House briefing, June 1, 2011. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/ via JTA)
August 20, 2020, 4:17 am
How Jewish socialist summer camp shaped top US postal service official Ron Bloom
One of two Democrats on the USPS board of governors, he may be able to roll back changes by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that critics say could impact mail-in voting in November
By PHILISSA CRAMER
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