I Don’t Believe In That God Either
by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg Last month marked thirty years since the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Seven crew members died after the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after takeoff. As I’m sure...
Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy – Week of Parshas Ki Sisa 5776
RAV BELSKY, ZT”L – AN APPRECIATION – by Rav Hershel Schachter Erlau Rebbe passes away Thousands Attend Levayah of the Erlau Rebbe, zt”l Rabbi Emanuel Holzer z”l – Rabbi Holzer was such a fine man....
A Shot in the Arm for German Orthodox Liturgy
It is often sad to see. Whereas the majority of the post-World War II communities representing the traditions of European Jewry have experienced sustained and escalated growth in number and strength, German Orthodoxy has...
Point Counter-Point: Rabbi Steven Wernick Responds
The CEO of the United Synagogue replies to “Conservative Jews Deserve More than PR,” differentiating between PR and branding, and arguing that those impacted by Conservative Jewish communities are more educated and involved.
Conservative Jews Deserve More than PR
All agree that the Conservative Jewish movement is in rapid decline. But by hiring a PR agency, the United Synagogue is going in the wrong direction — surveys and branding will not fix the fundamental problem.
Bernie’s Kibbutz and Mine
The disclosure of which kibbutz Senator Bernie Sanders spent time at in1963 was red meat for the voracious purveyors of what, regrettably, passes for political commentary these days. Mr. Sanders – now the first...
Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy – Week of Parshas Tetzaveh 5776
THE LEGACY OF RAV BELSKY, ZT’L Obergefell and the Jewish Community – Fantastic essay by Rabbi Pruzansky American Orthodox Jews will miss Scalia, their great defender The Passing of Justice Scalia . . ....
The Agudah and YU: the Quiet Revolution and the New World Order
Call it a truce or call what it what you will, but the two movements seem somehow closer today than the way things appeared a generation ago. What, indeed, has happened here? What hath God wrought?
The American Jewish Buffet
“Secular Orthodox.” That’s how Avinoam Bar-Yosef, president of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, recently characterized many Israelis. What he meant was that, while an Israeli may not be observant of halachah, or even...
Rabbi Gordimer and his Critics
I rise on a question of personal privilege on behalf of an esteemed colleague. An open debate of ideas is appropriate (as we have said all along), but unfounded mischaracterization of a writer’s motivations and dialogue with others is quite out of line.