Pesach Shiur Now Available
A bit more somber than usual. We live in somber times. May Hashem soon bring the geulah we so desperately long for. Some thoughts on magid from R. Hutner, RSRH, R. Soloveitchik, and the...
What We Mean When We Talk About Fire Safety And Jewish Observance
An article I wrote about the blaming of the recent horrific fire in Brooklyn on Sabbath-observance appears in Haaretz here. You may need to register (free of charge) on the site to access it....
Annual Pre-Pesach Shiur For Women
My annual shiur for women on aspects of the treatment of the baalei machshavah of the Haggadah will take place BEH this Wednesday at noon on the third floor of the headquarters of the...
Persian Diversion
It was a tad early for “Purim Torah,” but on Taanis Esther, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zari responded to a question from an NBC correspondent by insisting that Iran cares deeply for and...
The Politics of Adar
The masses were exuberant; champagne bubbling over, shouts of victory and pride, emotions bursting forth with confidence and joyous affirmation of a smashing success. Triumph and euphoria filled the air. But the morning after,...
Finance Minister Moshe Gafni
Dror Feuer, in Globes Magazine of 1/31/15, writes (my translation): I think I have a good idea for this country: a Charedi Finance Minister. I am utterly serious. I suggest that in any government...
Election Inversion
Here in the US, we’ve come to expect an escalation of dirty campaigning and inattention to facts as campaigns drag on. Ironically, as we get closer to the Israeli election, some truths have emerged...
Rabbi Riskin and Female Halachic Adjudicators: It Does Not Compute
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin’s ambitious program to fill Israeli society with female halachic adjudicators just experienced a significant advance, as R. Riskin appointed a woman, Dr. Jennie Rosenfeld, to the position of Mahniga Ruhanit (Spiritual...
The Differences We Make
In Baltimore’s Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, in whose yeshivah gedolah I was fortunate to study in the 1970s, the custom was that each beis medrash bachur would learn during night seder with a high school-age...