The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
by Steven Pruzansky The most charitable way of explaining the election results of 2012 is that Americans voted for the status quo – for the incumbent President and for a divided Congress. They must...
The Rabbi’s Daughter
I cried watching this film. Not just because it is about three daughters who choose to break with the chinuch they received from their parents, from the ways of the Torah. Not just because...
Sandy’s Aftermath: How Others See Jewish Chesed
A tragedy of epic proportions perhaps lends itself to stories of heroism, courage and altruism. All the more so when Sandy’s after-effects mock the ability of time to begin the process of healing. The...
Political Campaigns… and the Jewish Problem
It might seem a sacrilegious thought but it’s entirely true: Your vote doesn’t count. When was the last time you heard of an election, even for a local office, decided by one vote? A...
Personal Invitation to an Orthodox Community Bloc Party
by Shlomie Boehm Our community is being invited to a party. Valuable party favors will be distributed. There is just one caveat — the community must show up en masse, for ten to fifteen...
A Message From R. Yaakov Bender, RY Darchei Torah, Far Rockaway
We have just gone through a difficult few days and I would like to go over two important points: 1. Many people , young and old, are hurting now. They need help in cleaning...
Misguided Markings
In slow but clear Hebrew and with an endearingly wry smile, the elderly Jewish lady recalls a trip to America one summer with her sister. At a bank, she recounts, the teller, a young...
Genesis and the Higgs Boson
by Daniel Korobkin Jews worldwide have just begun again the weekly Torah reading cycle with the book of Genesis and the story of creation. This comes on the heels of this summer’s most important...
We Didn’t Build That
The current extended silly season called a presidential campaign has certainly provided its share of absurdities. Wouldn’t it be nice if all there was to consider were objective facts about the candidates and carefully...
Metzitzah and the Halachic Process
by Rabbi Yerachmiel Seplowitz The Metzitzah controversy is nothing new. In the 1800’s, in Germany, the elements of Reform sought to ban circumcision entirely, attacking the “barbaric” practice of Metzitzah b’peh (MBP), where a...