Revisiting the Iran Deal
I’ve been asked in recent days whether my feelings about last year’s Iran nuclear deal have changed. What prompted the inquiries was the lengthy New York Times Magazine profile of deputy national-security adviser Ben...
Where’s the Meat? What’s the Meat?
The Tochacha (Reprimand) of Parshas Bechukosai, while not the longest Tochacha in the Torah, is very unique, for rather than place focus on specific misdeeds, it focuses instead on personal priorities, as elucidated by Chazal...
Gone to the Gorillas
The world has gone mad over the death of Harambe the gorilla. Had the child been harmed instead, there would be no similar outcry, as we know from similar incidents. What does this tell us about today’s priorities?
Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy – Parshas Bechukosai 5776
BMG ‘Disappointed’ Court Cancelled $10M State Grant Trump Advisor Meets Jewish Groups in Flatbush Rabbi stabbed in Ukrainian synagogue by angry job-seeker Orthodox Rabbi Teaching Halakha Beyond the Shulkhan Arukh, Judaism Beyond the Commandments –...
No Regrets
My employer, Agudath Israel of America, as a non-profit organization, is not permitted to endorse any candidate for public office. I, however, write this column each week as an individual, not as an organizational...
The Last Word: The Master Knocks
by Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie “The day is short, the work is great, the workers are lazy, but the reward is great, and the master of the house is knocking [at your door].” Pirkei Avos...
Don’t Chop Down the Trees, We Need the Forest – We Need Chabad
I really misfired. My intentions were sincere, they were directed to constructive critique and they were, in my opinion, expressed quite gently and respectfully – yet they were not helpful in the overall scheme...
Addressing Dishonesty
[UPDATED] There are some writers whom you imagine will disagree in an appropriate and logical fashion, without straw men and without inspiring people to mock words of our greatest teachers. And sometimes you will be disappointed.
Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy – Parshas Behar 5776
US House protects shechita and brit as religious freedoms A Shiur Like None Other Watch: Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef’s Critique of Those Who Think It Is a Mitzvah to Visit Meron Thousands Mourn...
Lessons of a Viral Video
The Orthodox video that went viral last week dispels a lot of stereotypes about the Orthodox world and is frankly inspirational… but you won’t see that in any of the coverage.