To Err is Essential
Students of Daf Yomi will reach it on the seventh day of Chanukah, “it” being a particularly trenchant mishna in Mesechta Shabbos, considering that the following day, “Zos Chanukah,” is identified in the Jewish...
The Halo Effect and Good Fences-The Weberman Case and Abuse Prevention in Our Community – Part Two
by Rabbi Yakov Horowitz Imagine entering a nearly deserted shul one morning and seeing a fellow taking a number of dollar bills from the pushka (charity) box. Would you suspect that he was stealing...
The Sderot Menorah And The Hobnailed Sandal
A menorah stands atop the yeshiva in Sderot. No ordinary menorah, it is fashioned out of pieces of rocket happily donated by the neighboring communities across the border in Gaza, delivered by airborne express....
Reacting to the Weberman Case
by Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz [Editor’s note: Presumably, CC readers are not interested in sitting in judgment about events they have neither the knowledge nor the authority to judge. Many of us, however, do need...
Torah Values, Right – Wing Politics, and Health Reform
by Micah Segelman Socially conservative principles and strong rhetorical support for Israel, among other factors, attract many in the Orthodox world to the GOP. While in of itself this is perfectly reasonable it’s a...
Mourning Under Glass – a Review
You will not enjoy reading Mourning Under Glass, which is exactly why you should read it. It is not meant to be enjoyed, but to drag you in to where you really do not...
Chasing Away The Sandman – The Hurricane Sandy Wakeup Call
by Yehuda L. Oppenheimer Much has been, and will continue to be written, about the calamity that was Hurricane Sandy. Thousands rendered homeless, millions without power; an incalculable loss of money, possessions, any sense...
Shameless plug
Please forgive the “commercial” nature of this posting, but I just wanted to share with Cross-Currents readers that a collection of some of my essays from the past ten years or so has just...
Thanking the President
Major Orthodox organizations were quick to thank the President for his unequivocal articulation of Israel’s right to defend herself. In the best tradition of hakoras hatov, these messages went out: Agudath Israel We at...
Those Boring Gaza Rockets
We are at war. While I have always shied away from purely political posts on Cross-Currents, wartime has its own exigencies. Some of our readers will be hearing from friends and acquaintances critical of...