Community celebrates Jewish Heritage Night at Vivint arena with menorah lighting during Jazz game
12/27/2019 12:53:03 PM
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-sltrib.s3.amazonaws.com/public/JEUFJ5C5WRBU3OPET5JUIGM6W4.jpg)
Hoops and Hanukkah were celebrated Thursday night.
In a display of unity and togetherness in northern Utah’s Jewish community, Chabad Lubavitch of Utah joined Thursday with Congregation Kol Ami, Temple Har Shalom, Chabad of Park City, Young Jewish Professionals of Utah and the I.J. and Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center on Thursday to host the fourth Jewish Heritage Night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Posadas Navidenas, Hanukkah & solstice — A guide to understanding 7 different religious holidays in December
12/18/2019 07:45:15 AM
Cantor Wendy Bat-Sarah of Congregation Kol Ami said although Hanukkah is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, it’s still important to American Jewish children who typically receive presents on all eight nights. Families eat fried foods such as potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot), attend parties and often engage in charitable activities.
“Historically, Hanukkah commemorates a time when Jews were struggling against losing our religion and culture. In modern times it has come to celebrate religious freedom which we Americans hold so dear,” she said. “Jews have always been a tiny minority of the world’s population, and yet, by focusing on our core ethical values and by taking care of each other, we have outlasted all of the regimes and social movements that have tried to erase us from history. For me, this is the enduring understanding of Hanukkah.”
3 Questions with Fox 13's Bob Evans
11/12/2019 07:04:34 AM
Full interview with Rabbi Sam Spector — watch here!
Is religion off-limits on the job? What the law says may surprise you.
11/11/2019 06:39:14 PM
The biggest frustration for Jews in the Beehive State is getting off for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, says Rabbi Sam Spector of Utah’s Congregation Kol Ami.
Christmas is a federal holiday, the rabbi says, when most workers get a day off, but it is not a holiday Jews observe because they are not Christians.
For their holidays, many of his congregants have to use vacation time.
“Every year, I have to write letters to employers, begging them to allow our people to have the time off,” Spector says, “and explaining the religious significance.”
Young, ’dynamic’ Utah rabbi is bringing together Kol Ami’s Jewish congregants
10/10/2019 07:23:22 AM
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-sltrib.s3.amazonaws.com/public/JRD4KBOBOBFBDJ6QVJSBG2GPOE.jpg)
It is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and Congregation Kol Ami’s millennial rabbi is ready with a never-before-tried unifying tradition and a challenging sermon sure to spark fire. Or maybe heat.
Mixing convention and innovation is what 31-year-old Rabbi Sam Spector does best.
He is observant of Jewish rituals but open to those who aren’t. He forgoes technology on holy days but has officiated at same-sex weddings and interfaith weddings. He observes the Jewish Shabbat but has friends in every faith. He is at home in the world of ancient texts and modern phone texts.
Spector draws on the past to push into the future — and he’s not afraid to push others, too.
As it says in Proverbs, the rabbi quotes, “without vision, the people will perish.”
Change is “hard,” says Nicole Fenwick, co-chairwoman of the search committee that selected Spector, “and he’s not scared of it.”
Last year on this day, Spector chose to talk about the controversial #MeToo movement. This time around it will be political combatants Donald Trump and Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democratic Muslim House member from Minnesota.
Tue, June 24 2025
28 Sivan 5785
