Conversion Standards – Rabbi Angel’s Response
[Editor’s note: An earlier post took issue with some of the ideas expressed in an article in the Forward by Rabbi Angel. He requested an opportunity to respond, which of course was gladly granted.]...
Category: Judaism
In High Dudgeon Over HD
I can’t say that I didn’t find the YES commercial insanely funny. That is not to my credit. There is so much mockery of Torah, of traditional values in the clip that by right,...
Un-hijacking Hanukah
Many of us will have come across presentations of Hanukah that portray it as the anniversary of the ultimate victory of Jewish history – that of Judaism over the secular culture of the time....
Shmita is our test of faith
At the height of the ongoing controversy over shmita observance, an editorial appeared in this paper (“Shmita pragmatism,” Sept. 18) celebrating the heter mechira as the essential manifestation “of the religious Zionist ethos.” The...
The Nature of Nature
It is a strange and disorienting panorama that Rabbi E. E. Dessler, the celebrated Jewish thinker (1892-1953) asks us to ponder: a world where the dead routinely rise from their graves but no grain...
An Exercise in Futility; but not without Danger
In no area of human behavior does Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity – “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” – come so frequently to mind as Middle East...
Are there limits to the exercise of power?
Do Torah Jews have an obligation to use any power, political or economic, that they can muster to force the not-yet religious to live in greater conformity with the Torah’s commands? In determining whether...
If they like him, we’re done for
We are encouraged that President Bush, best known for waging war in Iraq, has finally accepted the challenge of peacemaker. –NY Times editorial A line like that makes your heart stop. The NY Times...
Halacha is Not a Chinese Menu
Most issues raised by Rabbi Marc Angel’s recent essay on conversion standards are not going to change the quality of your life, unless you are a candidate for conversion. One issue does, and it...
Seinfeld at the Kotel
“Dog bites man is not news,” so often the good stuff goes unreported or underreported. We offer here a few anecdotes about Kiddush Hashem, and how easy it can be. Jerry Seinfeld came to...
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