A Cautionary Tale
The headline says it all: “Court orders Orthodox woman to be cremated after three-month battle.” Ethel Baar, who died on September 11, began following Orthodox Judaism late in life, and her great-nephew James Pollak...
Author: Yaakov Menken
Teaching Emunah to Our Children
I was honored with a last-minute invitation to participate in Ami Magazine‘s Premier issue, which appeared yesterday. I responded with the following essay. In general, I like what the editors did — this original...
“Diplomacy in Action,” or Anti-Semitic Tripe?
“Israeli law also restricted the ability of Israeli Jews to reach places of worship in areas under Palestinian control.” This was perhaps the biggest howler of the U.S. State Department’s annual exercise in Israel-bashing,...
Taking a Shyne to Judaism
The Jerusalem Post (from which this title was lifted) and the NY Times both published stories this week about the hip-hop artist “Shyne,” born Jamal Michael Barrow, and who now goes by the name...
Younger Jewish leaders not so worried about intermarriage
This headline is taken from the JTA, discussing the latest research paper from the Avi Chai Foundation: Jewish leaders younger than 40 aren’t as bent out of shape about intermarriage as their older colleagues....
The Importance of Voting
As Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel put it in an email: The simple reality is that government officials look at which groups vote, and take their positions on the major issues of the day accordingly....
Liberalism Is Not Our Religion
Aryeh Rubin, managing director of The Maot Group and president of the Targum Shlishi Foundation, has an opinion piece in the NY Jewish Week bemoaning the new religion of liberal American Jews. He writes...
Academic Freedom In Action
Yediot Achronot declares, “The Education Ministry’s chief scientist, Dr. Gavriel Avital, was dismissed on Monday following a scandal-filled trial period of less than a year.” What was the great scandal? Did he embezzle money,...
Angel at the Gap
Over 45 years ago, Don Ritchie and his wife Moya purchased a house overlooking the Gap, the cliffs at Sydney Harbour. The Gap offers amazing views, and a tragic history – every year, about...
Fine Fiction at Yediot
From the Yediot Achronot, we learn that “We yeshiva students barely study.” According to their report, an unidentified kollel student showed up in their offices and proceeded to spend an hour or two ragging...
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