The Universal Sukkah
Sukkos inevitably gives way to Shmini Atzeres. The parei ha-Chag brought on behalf of the nations of the world give way to a day of intimacy between Hashem and His people alone. The shift...
Author: Yitzchok Adlerstein
Israelis, Too, Want That Old-Time Religion
It will take awhile to put the pieces together in a way that demonstrates a clear trend. If anything, the new poll on the religious preferences of Israelis shows opposing trends coexisting. Israel’s Central...
A Shofar From a Different Day
If you haven’t seen it yet, treat yourself to a few minutes viewing this very poignant YouTube video about the intrepid young people who risked much to sound the Shofar at the Kotel at...
Stephen Hawking’s Rosh Hashanah Gift
For two weeks before Rosh Hashanah, R. Berel Soloveitchik could not taste food. It all went down like chalk, because he could not salivate. Anticipating the Divine judgment with which he would soon be...
The Specialness of Jewish History
Who wrote these lines? A philo-semitic commentator? A spokesman for the Christian right? I don’t think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims. They have...
Rabbi Bleich on Kinyan
Frum attorneys, kiruv people, Partners in Torah mentors, law school profs – you need to see Rabbi Bleich’s latest contribution to Tradition. Kinyan is a leitmotif of so many sugyos, but does not have...
Clueless at The New Republic
Marty Peretz’s diatribe against R Ovadia Yosef and fundamentalist Jewish oppression of women is not worth reading, save to remind us that even very bright people write very silly things when they comment about...
The California Governor’s Race, Rebbi and Antoninus, and Israeli Ingenuity
California voters face an unusual choice in the coming gubernatorial election. Interestingly, a recent Daf holds the key to the way frum voters are likely to go. Elections are often a choice between tweedle-dee...
Kids of Courage, the Commonality of Disability, and Elul
The one hundred and thirty children and young adults with whom I spent a few days share two things. They are all Jewish, and they all contend daily with serious and debilitating illness. Many...
Chelsea’s Wedding and the Third Mesorah
When the Clinton-Mezvinsky nuptials were announced, I played the role of Grinch, and opined that there was little cause for celebration. Nothing could change my mind. All of us certainly wish Chelsea Clinton all...
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