Author: Yaakov Menken

News reports indicate that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, “the top Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land,” planted an olive tree on Sunday in the path of the separation wall being built by...

Long-time readers will remember that Toby Katz loved loved Ushpizin, which depicts an Israeli couple who adopted Orthodoxy (becoming Breslover Chassidim) and who have a pair of criminals — one of whom is an...

Here we go again. Yet another Rabbi thundering away that “calling Conservative Judaism a halachic movement is intellectually dishonest,” and pointing out that there’s not much standing between the commitment to observance of your...

Two Sifrei Torah and a Paroches were stolen from a synagogue in Westwood, CA on Monday night: Two Sefardi Sefer Torah in wooden boxes with the Rimonim. The boxes are white background with pictures...

Arutz-7 reports that “As of today, food may not be sold in Israel without being marked as either meat, dairy or pareve (neither milk nor meat).” A new law to this effect passed its...

This Shabbos it was my pleasure to join a retreat at a conference center. Jewish learning in a relaxed atmosphere, a mixture of serious discussions and fun had by all — what could be...

For those still in doubt whether the Reform movement has become a wing of the Democratic Party, the results of last week’s Convention may resolve the question. According to the Washington Jewish Week, the...

Ori Pomerantz is one of our more frequent commenters. He asked the following question as a comment to a previous post, seeking “our” response. So I sent the question around, and determined that several...

When I lived in Israel, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav was often in the news — and never on the “right” side of the editorials. He was quoted as a spokesman for “ultra-Orthodox” demonstrators, protesting this or...

The Knesset has approved dissolution, and, one way or the other, it seems that Israel will be heading to the polls on March 28. According to yesterday’s Jerusalem Post (yes, I regret not posting...