Stephen Hawking’s Rosh Hashanah Gift
For two weeks before Rosh Hashanah, R. Berel Soloveitchik could not taste food. It all went down like chalk, because he could not salivate. Anticipating the Divine judgment with which he would soon be...
The Specialness of Jewish History
Who wrote these lines? A philo-semitic commentator? A spokesman for the Christian right? I don’t think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims. They have...
Rabbi Bleich on Kinyan
Frum attorneys, kiruv people, Partners in Torah mentors, law school profs – you need to see Rabbi Bleich’s latest contribution to Tradition. Kinyan is a leitmotif of so many sugyos, but does not have...
What about Blowing the Esrog on Shavuos?
From the Sacramento Bee: The month preceding the “Ten Days of Awe” begins with a thorough housecleaning to get rid of anything with leaven, which is likened to sin in the Torah. It also...
Clueless at The New Republic
Marty Peretz’s diatribe against R Ovadia Yosef and fundamentalist Jewish oppression of women is not worth reading, save to remind us that even very bright people write very silly things when they comment about...
The California Governor’s Race, Rebbi and Antoninus, and Israeli Ingenuity
California voters face an unusual choice in the coming gubernatorial election. Interestingly, a recent Daf holds the key to the way frum voters are likely to go. Elections are often a choice between tweedle-dee...
Great Expectations
Thoughts of consequence can sometimes arise from the most mundane experiences, even a headache. Opening the medicine cabinet one day, I was struck by a sticker on a prescription container. “Not for use by...
Kids of Courage, the Commonality of Disability, and Elul
The one hundred and thirty children and young adults with whom I spent a few days share two things. They are all Jewish, and they all contend daily with serious and debilitating illness. Many...
Chelsea’s Wedding and the Third Mesorah
When the Clinton-Mezvinsky nuptials were announced, I played the role of Grinch, and opined that there was little cause for celebration. Nothing could change my mind. All of us certainly wish Chelsea Clinton all...
Divining Ms. Kagan
Imagining that one can divine how a new Supreme Court justice will rule on the sort of fundamental issues often brought before the High Court – particularly when the justice has never before served...