The recent Fox News three-part series on NY hasidim did little to endear Jews to our fellow citizens – not Satmar (and it could have been any of several other groups without changing the...
R. Yehuda HaLevi wrote about journeys on which his heart took him – back to the splendor of Israel before the Destruction. כל תענוגים בבא בסרך / All the delights of the world found...
Half of the art of a good polemicist is attaching an effective label to his argument. My good friend Rabbi Dr Natan Slifkin found a winner in calling his approach “rationalist Judaism.” Who doesn’t...
As Thursday evening gently prodded Yom Haatzmaut revelers to begin closing down, my day was just beginning. Radio stations in America were asking for local commentary, and in a few cases, I was elected....
[for mature audiences only. Really] Decades ago, no kiruv weekend with teens would go by without the de rigueur sessions on negiah, sex, or whatever. Stock tools were rolled out to convince teens not...
A visit to Johannesburg began with elation in the company of a thriving Torah community, and ended with a mussar shmuess from some refugees from Zimbabwe. I’m not sure that there is anything like...
Leaving Israel was always difficult for me, but I figured that this time, embarking on my first major trip back to the West, would be different. I was wrong. It was always the uncertainty...
The OU handed down its long-awaited decision on the status of member shuls which employ female clergy. It was a significant victory for the Torah community, an accomplishment that the OU can be proud...
Yesterday, 14 Shevat was the yahrzeit of R Aryeh Kaplan z”l, one of the most important teachers of Torah in the 20th century, and a huge influence on my early life. I would not...
From Israel, a different chunk of the globe falls within easy travel range to the former American. Should someone have a reason or predisposition to visit Europe, frequent and cheap flights make many cities...
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