Allowing Women to Choose
Well-informed, they say, is well-prepared; and knowledge is power. An exception, though – at least in the judgment of some – seems to be when Jewish women in Israel are contemplating ending their pregnancies....
Author: Avi Shafran
Prisoners of Preconceptions
Even with protective cover from Senator Charles E. Schumer – as determined a defender of Israel as there ever was – and even speaking only for myself, I hesitate to address the overwrought reaction...
Never Going Back Again
American politicians tainted by scandal and forced to resign their positions usually explain that they want “to spend more time with their families.” Issam al-Aryan, a top advisor to Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, who...
Prayer and Politics
I was heartened by the responses I received to my essay last week, in which I suggested that Jews of good will on each side of the issue of women’s prayer groups at the...
The “War of the Wall” Secret Weapon
It’s easy to dismiss the antics of Warrior of the Wall Anat Hoffman. Her guerrilla gatherings of women in vocal prayer services at the Kosel Maaravi, or Western Wall, in defiance of an Israeli...
A Jewish “Connection”
Most people, asked if there was any specific Jewish connection to the recent horrific murder of 20 first-graders and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, would probably respond “Noah...
A Film Informs My Sh’ma
As a single young man in 1977, I once found myself in a science museum where I viewed a just released short film that – there’s really no other way to put it –...
The Time of Your Life
Similar advertisements abound, but this one took the cake. I’ve always been simultaneously amused and saddened by pitches for “high-end timepieces,” more accurately known as overpriced wristwatches. Amused, because the most intricate Swiss movements...
To Err is Essential
Students of Daf Yomi will reach it on the seventh day of Chanukah, “it” being a particularly trenchant mishna in Mesechta Shabbos, considering that the following day, “Zos Chanukah,” is identified in the Jewish...
Agudath Israel statement on UN resolution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2012 Statement From Agudath Israel of America on UN Resolution Concerning Palestinian Statehood The declarations of Hamas, the Palestinian government of Gaza, that Israel must be destroyed, the countless...
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