The Real Story?
by Steven Pruzansky The controversy du jour deals with the high school girls and their tefillin, and it has prompted the usual litany of responses. Once again, what passes for psak in the Modern...
Category: Judaism
Who, Really, Are the Orthodox?
It’s rare that I simply refer to another article, but “I am Orthodox, and Orthodox is me” speaks for itself. I think the piece is stronger because the writer is both relatively unknown, and...
Charedim and The Gap
Apologies for causing an unwarranted adrenalin surge in some of our readers who may be hostile to our Israeli cousins. This will not be an expose about black-hatted people on the dole squandering public...
Obama and the Orthodox, Revisited
In a recent article in HaAretz, reprinted here on Cross-Currents, Rabbi Avi Shafran offered several explanations why there seems to be an Orthodox “animus” against President Obama. He discounts theories like racism and Obama’s...
Obama and the (Orthodox) Jews
(The article below appeared earlier this month in Haaretz. I share it here with that paper’s permission.) The gabbai at the shul I usually attend on Shabbos is something of a comedian. When I...
In Pursuit of Wisdom
by Yaakov Rosenblatt A couple of weeks ago, while visiting family in New Jersey, I picked up a copy of The Lakewood Voice (Dec 25), a hand-out magazine comprised of news and advertisements. The...
The Rabbanut and Rabbi Weiss: It’s Not Just A Power Struggle
Believe whatever you want about the Israeli Rabbinate’s rejection of Rabbi Avi Weiss’ testimonial letters, the principle behind the invalidation is sound and important. It applies – and is in fact used – against...
Storied Lives
I used to have a chavrusah, or study partner, with whom I learned Torah annually. Yes, annually. Usually for about an hour or two. In a different city each year. The text we studied...
A Father’s Tefilah
The very first time we meet Moshe Rabbenu after his infancy, he “went out to his brothers,” which Chazal understand to mean that “he set his eyes and heart to feel their pain.” I...
Where is “Moving Traditions” Moving People?
If you’ve been following the saga of the “Women of the Wall” and the “Women for the Wall,” you know that WOW is doing everything it can to bolster its numbers and coverage. W4W...
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