By Ellen Marks Where do you turn for guidance after a young man attacks Congregation Albert and then, eight minutes later, the Jewish Community Center? Or when a Jewish teacher is the target of antisemitism at a school in Santa Fe, or a known neo-Nazi shows up inside a
Law
By Martin Finston 'We Should Worry': Church-State Separation and Texas's Ten Commandments Law Sparks ConcernBy Martin Finston Shabbat Sparks is a series at Congregation B’nai Israel that sparks up Sabbath services three times a year with contemporary and relevant cultural programming. All are welcome
Awards
Judith Fein’s column and arts review each placed second in Division 1, behind only the Santa Fe New Mexican, in NMJJ’s first year in the contest.
Op-ed
By Merilee Dannemann Four years ago, county commissioners in Otero County caused a minor national embarrassment for New Mexico by refusing to certify the primary election. One commissioner claimed he had proof. With no reason given, he didn’t trust the voting machines. Eventually, threatened with legal action including possible
Advertorial - Community News
AWARD WINNING STORYTELLER & AUTHOR MARK BINDER is coming to Albuquerque with his show, “You Can’t Sing” he said…and I believed him! Storytellers of New Mexico and The NM Jewish Storytelling Festival are bringing Mark Binder to FUSION’s Cell Theater for his lying, storytelling, and books tour.
Newsletter
New stories and Community Event flyers, including Oct. 4 Simchat Torah celebrations this morning. Three years ago, the attack of October 7 fell on Simchat Torah. This year we celebrate the holiday with both bitter and sweet, dancing with the Torah on Sunday and gathering in remembrance on Wednesday, Oct.
Community News Feature
Story and Photos by Paul Ross One of THE big questions — right up there after “What is the Meaning of Life?”— is “Is There Life After Death?” Most religions have answers but seances try to put you in touch with the only ones who really know: the dead. And now
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By Fred Nathan A 2025 poll found that only 19% of New Mexico residents trust state government officials. The good news is that there are commonsense ethics reforms that can help restore New Mexicans’ trust in their government.
VISIT the Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival https://www.santafejff.org/ to buy tickets, sign up for the email, and learn about the season's films SUNDAY NOV. 15 3:30 PM at the CCA Santa Fe BUY TICKETS Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival The Long Journey Home "
Story & Photos by Paul Ross In Mel Brooks’ remake of legendary director Ernst Lubitsch’s classic WWII dark comedy “To Be Or Not To Be,” a struggling Polish theatrical company learns that their Nazi occupier’s latest ban prohibits “Jews, Gypsies, and Homosexuals” from the theater. Upon hearing this,
By Misha Sauceda We come in everyday clothes—worn jeans, scuffed sneakers, T-shirts, warm hoodies. Children play in the Social hall. We talk and laugh. The atmosphere feels charged, different from an ordinary Shabbat morning. Then all the Torahs come out. Usually, opening the ark is a special moment.
By Merilee Dannemann | Triple Spaced Again If you have never heard of the term “loss ratio,” consider yourself lucky. That means you have never had to learn a certain unpleasant truth. “Loss ratio” means how much insurance companies have to pay for losses and other expenses compared to how much
By Sherry Robinson | All She Wrote After years of debate, voters will have the chance to weigh in on a paid Legislature in Constitutional Amendment 4. In all the pros and cons so far, however, nobody has raised the big question: Who benefits by having volunteer legislators? Supporters (mostly Democrats)
RSVP BY OCT. 7th: RAISE THE ROOF on Oct. 11 Congregation B'nai Israel invites the community to RAISE THE ROOF, a good old-fashioned HOEDOWN on Sunday, October 11, 2026. The lively community-oriented event, featuring square dancing and a barbecue, is a fund-raiser for B’nai
Gatherings of remembrance Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Free; registration required, and locations are shared upon registration. REGISTER HEREREGISTER HERETIP JARRETURN TO HOME HERE FOR MORE STORIES Community Supporters of the NM Jewish Journal include: Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico Congregation
RSVP: SHINE A Sisterhood Celebration - free
chavurahabq.org Chavurat Hamidbar Fellowship of the Desert The Chavurah is an egalitarian, eclectic-traditional community without a building or paid professional functionary. Our prayer leaders and Torah readers are both men and women. Our prayer books and bibles (Sim Shalom, Revised Plaut, New Machzor) are issued by various movements,
By Judith Fein “Oh Jonah he lived in a whale. He made his home in that fish’s abdomen,” sings Spo’tin’ Life in the song “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy & Bess.” In familiar adaptations of the Pinocchio story, the wooden puppet and
By Rabbi Min Kantrowitz - Jewish Values #9: Talmud Torah Each edition of NMJJ highlights one of the many Jewish values that guide our lives. Each of these values underlies our Jewish community, regardless of any individuals’ religious observances or practices. These values form the ethical structure of the community. They