Author: Yitzchok Adlerstein

Please forgive the temerity of addressing You in this way. Actually, for mortal Man to address You altogether doesn’t really make sense. Why would You listen? Why should You care? But You do. You...

I was devastated to learn a few days ago that Mara Kochba, a friend for decades, had passed away on Shabbos. Mara was an activist’s activist. Professionally, she was a PR guru, a fund-raiser,...

Until beating a hasty retreat while I could still find a flight back to Israel, I was sitting shiva[1] for my mother הכ”ם in Brooklyn. It was eerie. We have come to think of...

Cynics rejoice at the spectacle of rabbis sparring with each other. Supporters of the Moetzes Gedolei Torah groan in disbelief. Both reactions, however, are uncalled for. The internecine conflict regarding the WZO elections continues,...

by Rabbi Yaakov Hoffman The attempts of Jewish leaders to rein in alcohol abuse, on Purim and in general, have not been met with much success. The conclusion is inescapable: It is time to...

Just what Jews are has been debated for ages. In recent times, the different options have become agendized and politicized. My friend Rabbi Shmuel Goldin recently contributed a delightful, upbeat essay to Torah Tidbits...

As we observe Chanukah, celebrating (among other things) our survival while our persecutors disappeared, we recall the infamous Look Magazine cover story in 1964. “The Vanishing American Jew” predicted that American Jewry might soon...

No way. We’re not going there, or any place near it. We can be respectful of our Christian neighbors without going the way of too many American Jews who “get with” the holiday spirit...

Rabbi Gordimer once again was the Nachshon wading into the turbulent waters ahead of everyone else. His reaction to the new Orthodox heresies pulled no punches. Bottom line: If you are spouting heresy, then...

We don’t have any racists in our community, right? Of course we do. And, as the political climate changes in the US, we’re going to pay a higher price for whatever racism does exist....