Meaningless Ritual
The original founders of the “Jewish Friends of Reform,” in Germany of 1843, invited to join them “all who do not accord any authority or obligatory power to the confused and frequently meaningless rabbinical...
Author: Yaakov Menken
Litigious Society, or Litigious Road to Anarchy?
Here is a short course on how you personally can help destroy the economy. First, find an obscure clause in a federal regulation which legally prohibits something in the business to consumer relationship, although...
Would’ve Been Nice to be Wrong
Two months ago, I posted about comments made by the departing Head of the IDF Personnel Directorate which were openly hostile to observance. I said that this hostility was one contributing factor to why...
The Forward Almost Got It Right
I had to scan back in my e-mail to notice the blatant self-promotion in the Forward’s mailing from Friday: “Forward Got It Right,” referring to their coverage of the Crown Heights Pogrom of 1991....
Someone Else Who Gets It — Almost
While I don’t read the Baltimore Jewish Times often anymore, someone showed me this week’s issue and I came across an op-ed that I enjoyed reading. Given that the first half is filled with...
The Jerusalem Passport Dispute
None of the news articles mention that Naomi (Siegman) Zivotofsky and Alyza Lewin were college friends and classmates, part of an overachieving cadre that also included the Shalem Center’s Yoram & Yael (Julie) Hazony,...
Someone Finally Gets It — Again
Joel Alperson is a highly-respected, prominent person within the Federation world — he was a past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities, now known as the Jewish Federations of North America. He is...
Not Getting What We Didn’t Pay For
Last week, as the mercury soared to record highs across much of the United States, electrical demand rose with the temperature as air-conditioning systems ran full blast. Years ago, Baltimore Gas & Electric created...
“Some people think Army is Yeshiva”
The question of why the Haredi community tends to avoid or minimize IDF service is one with multiple facets, one of which is the ongoing hostility of the IDF towards Jewish religious practice. A...
Double-Blind Science and the Church of Agnosticism
Rabbi Natan Slifkin recently posted a response to Rabbi Shafran’s essay from yesterday. Unfortunately, he misrepresents what Rabbi Shafran had to say, which was entirely reasonable — and on target. Rabbi Shafran said that...
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