TheThree Cardinal Sins of Singing
by Aron White – A Young Writer contribution Singing is part of many areas of Avodas Hashem. The Gemara refers to a Shul as a “Makom Rina,” and place of singing. The Medrash says...
Ebola and Metzitza Bipeh
Part of a message from the Medical Society of the State of New York to local physicians reads as follows: “Strategies to limit the potential for [Ebola] transmission… should be based on the best...
High Holy Days with the Military
by Samantha Hauptman Rosh Hashana – The head of the year, a time to reflect on the past year and resolve to be more tolerant, more compassionate, and more observant for the year ahead....
Moral Climate Change
My pre-Sukkos column about the furious, quasi-religious zeal of some environmental alarmists apparently generated some… well, furious, quasi-religious zeal. In an editorial, the New Jersey Jewish Standard’s managing editor mocked my contention that the...
Why I Am Stepping Down From a GPS Beis Din
By Steven Pruzansky After seven years as head of the Bet Din L’Giyur (the conversion court) in Bergen County, under the auspices of the Beth Din of America and the Gerus Protocol and Standards...
Looting the Kodesh
by Avrohom Gordimer Looters have invaded sacred space; the plane in crisis has been hijacked. Obviously, the Orthodox community must act with extreme care, meticulousness and scrutiny pursuant to the recent startling allegations of...
The Big Bang Contradicts Physics, not Religion
Pope Francis is in the news today, for having “sided with science” and against creationists — by endorsing the Big Bang Theory. According to these articles, his statement was “revolutionary” and “embraces modern science.”...
Elon Musk Can Sleep Easier
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, was quoted yesterday comparing artificial intelligence (AI) to “summoning the demon.” “I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I would guess at...
Kiruv Goes On: the Models Change
Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler in his justly famous essay on Sukkos (“Bitul HaYesh”) brings a Midrash that compares our entry into the sukkah to a mini-galus. The Midrash explains why the mitzvah of sukkah...
Winter High
The wishes of “git vinter!” customary in some communities after Shemini Atzeres might put some people in mind of fall’s end weeks hence, and give them a chill. Not me. I’m decidedly in the...