From The Mouths of Secularists
“…To this very day, if you ask for my religion, I say ‘Orthodox Hebrew’ – in the sense that the church [sic] I’m not attending is that one. If I were to go to...
Author: Avi Shafran
How Prayer Can #BringBackOurBoys
Two recent articles have sought to demean the concept of tefilla at times of crisis like the present one. A response to the critics that I wrote for the Forward can be read here.
A (for now) Final Post About Jewish Authority
I received much feedback concerning a piece I posted here several weeks ago (here) and a follow-up on my personal website (here), about second-guessing or disparaging the decisions of Jewish religious leaders. A pertinent...
Of Peoples… and People
Commuting to and from Manhattan daily on the Staten Island Ferry brings me into the vicinity of many a tourist. The boat sometimes resembles a United Nations General Assembly debate, without the translators. When...
Dangerous and Defective Products
It isn’t every year that news reports about Agudath Israel of America’s annual dinner make the pages of media like the Forward or The New York Times. This, however, was one such year. The...
Letter in June 5 Wall St. Journal
Shmuly Yanklowitz (“Why This Rabbi Is Swearing Off Kosher Meat,” Houses of Worship, May 30) is entitled to swear off meat if he chooses, but not to pass off his reasons for doing so...
Freedom, Love and Blintzes
A piece I wrote for the Forward about Shavuos is here . Chag same’ach! http://forward.com/articles/198768/shavuot-is-holiday-that-speaks-of-love-and-freedom/?
Children’s Programming
“Nahoul” is a giant bee, or, better, a man in a furry bee costume. He is one of the intended-to-be-lovable characters on “Pioneers of Tomorrow,” a children’s television program produced in Gaza. In a...
Retroactive Prophecy Redux
As I expected, my critique of some recent writing of Rabbi Berel Wein has generated many comments and communications, yeas and nays. A follow-up explanation can be read here.
Retroactive Prophecy
There exists a mentality, even among some who should know better, like the respected popular historian Rabbi Berel Wein, that any one of us can, and even should, second-guess the attitudes and decisions of...
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