Conversion: A Look From the Inside
Comments to Rabbi Shafran’s recent piece were so wildly all over the place, that I thought a few thoughts from someone who sits on a regular beis din (one of the few entirely accepted...
Author: Yitzchok Adlerstein
The Reincarnation of Father Coughlin
Father Charles Coughlin may have been the father of radio demagoguery in the US, cozying up to Hitler in the ‘30’s, and arguing along with Charles Lindbergh for American isolationism. Almost thirty years after...
Yevamos 63 and Embracing the Normal
Most weary Daf Yomi travelers will admit that an interlude of aggada is a welcome respite from the rigors of Yevamos . Parts of Daf 63A, however, were personally jarring. They took me back...
Habits Kill Hard
The savagery and brutality of the Hamas takeover of Gaza took some of us by surprise. We like to believe that even our bitter enemies are still human, and that in time, those benighted...
Henry VIII and Yevamos
If you think you are having trouble with Daf Yomi these days, read what happened when both Henry VIII and the Pope tried to support their positions with citations from rabbinic treatment of yibum....
Bracing For the Battle
Let it be a matter of record. Responsible leadership took steps to prevent violence and chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d’s Name) associated with the protests of Thursday’s scheduled Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem. Degel...
The Protest That Fizzled
What if the Palestinian lobby threw a party, and no one came? They did, and that’s pretty much what happened. The fortieth anniversary of the Six-Day War was supposed to be marked last weekend...
The Silver Lining of the Boycott Cloud
There are several, actually. The proposed British boycott of Israeli academicians has backfired to the point that even the Palestinians were taken by surprise. The aftermath has been a PR bonanza for Israel, with...
A Shabbos By Any Other Name
The renaming of the national treasure of the Jewish people may prove to be a breach of kedusha (holiness) that will make the Gay Pride parade look like a Tehilim rally. Unbelievably, it is...
Finding Fault with Fatwas
Fatwas from Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s most prestigious university, are seldom the stuff late-night comedy is made of. A recent ruling about women working in offices with unrelated males is going to entertain the sleepless...
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