Author: Yitzchok Adlerstein

That rabbi being me, a week ago.  A good part of my responsibilities at the Simon Wiesenthal Center (which is where I am when not at Yeshiva of Los Angeles or Loyola Law School...

When both my wife and Jonathan Rosenblum think I left room for some serious misunderstanding of my position, I know I’m in trouble.  Allow me to explain what I do and do not believe,...

If you ask me, they all got it wrong. He did not wear the hat to look more pious. Decades ago, the head of a large group within American Orthodoxy faced extremely serious charges...

I seldom disagree with Gil Student, whose Hirhurim is the only other blog I routinely look at. I don’t share his misgivings about the widespread use of a Hebrew legend invoking Hashem’s assistance –...

I’m still gathering my thoughts after a wonderful Shabbos at the annual West Coast Orthodox Union Torah Convention. That’s a lot of words for one title, and it generated experiences and memories commensurate with...

Joe – You came closer than anyone to denting my argument. (UCLA Law has done well by you. You are hereby entitled to an extra piece of kugel next time you come for Shabbos.)...

Some folks – in the Comments section, and in personal communications – really disagreed with my piece on Tookie. I disagree back. The common denominator of the malaise of the largest group is that...

Tookie should not have been executed. He may have been a bad man, but he was done in by bad law. Tookie should not have been executed by the State of California, because his...

Fresh from dealing with Harry Potter and witchcraft, Jewish parents must now pass judgment on the Lion King, coming to a theater near you. Assume, for the moment, that there are no outright halachic...

What would happen in Ori’s hypothetical mass teshuva of heterodox clergy? Would the laity become observant, or would they opt out of Judaism? My guess is that most would do neither. In fact, most...