Happy Meals, Jewish Style
There’s something – and something Jewish, as it happens – to be said for willfully denying ourselves foods, at least at times. An article I wrote for the excellent site simpletoremember.com, about eating Jewishly,...
Trumping Terrorism
When the Obama White House and Dick Cheney agree on something, it’s worthy of note. What united the two – along with a conga line of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, members of Congress...
Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy
The religious Left’s war against normative Orthodox Judaism – It turns out that many of the most vocal opponents of the new RCA resolution, who condemned and disparaged the RCA and the resolution in...
“Marriage Redefined”
Newly posted online is a video of an Agudah convention session titled: “Marriage Redefined: Should I Care?” I was one of the presenters, and if you have interest in the topic (I think it...
Merits, Not Munitions
The reporter’s question: “Should the chareidim serve in [Israel’s] military, or at least serve in some other capacity such as recognized public service commensurate with military service?” The query was posed to me in...
Turning Chanukah on Its Head
Tisha B’Av is the most ideologically challenging day on the Jewish calendar for secular Zionists (and even for some religious Zionists). Messages of the Jewish People being in a current state of Galus (Exile), imagery of...
Yoatzot: What We Learned
Contrary to some of the rather strident reactions to the recent piece, I would rank the article one of the most successful ever to appear in Cross-Currents. Despite the imputing of all kinds of...
The Presidency of Yeshiva University: The Harder Questions
Rabbi Michael J. Broyde And the race is on: already, before a search committee is formed, everyone is discussing who should be the next President of Yeshiva University. Lists and attributes abound, but these...
New Articles, and Thanks to God
I was asked by Jewish Action to expand upon and flesh out the issues in my Cross-Currents article about rabbinic dignity, for a Jewish action article on the subject; the Jewish Action article was just published, accompanied by...
Money DOES Grow on Trees-Chocolate Chanuka Gelt
Looking for something to sink your teeth into during Chanukah? Try the halachos of chocolate Chanukah gelt and the history of Jews and chocolate. Halachic questions are as numerous as chocolate beans in a...