The Last Taboo: Intermarried Rabbis
“In the Mix” is the name of a monthly column by Julie Wiener, carried by the NY Jewish Week. Ms. Wiener describes herself as “married to a lapsed Catholic — one who has encouraged...
The Rod to Greatness
By Doron Beckerman The tongue of the wise will approve of good sense, and the mouth of imbeciles will cause folly to flow. (Mishlei 15:2) When I’m not writing pieces for Cross-Currents, I’m involved...
Holocaust Denials
The “Endlösung” – the “Final Solution” – was for “der Judenfrage” – “the Jewish Question.” There was no “Romani Question” or “Homosexual Question.”
Baruch Hashem, Nothing Has Changed
by Dovid Landesman Reportedly, when the Munkatcher Rebbe, the Minchas Elazar zt”l, returned to Hungary after visiting with the Alfandri in Yerushalayim, his chassidim asked him: “Rebbe, is there anything new in Eretz Yisrael?”...
Artificial Halacha: Two More Flavors
[Warning to readers. If you believe that you have no valid reason to read details about approaches to halacha best described as kefirah, please go no further. This piece is not for you, and...
The Current Yerushalayim Protests: Hardly Unanimous
Many of us here in the United States continue to have a hard time processing the protests in Yerushalayim. As we try to comprehend, we can note some positive signs. The Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva...
Baron Jonathan Sacks
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, has been appointed a Life Peer by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. A life peer is given the rank of Baron among British nobility,...
Refinement
A reader took me to task for referring to spitters and bodily-assaulters as “unspeakable primitives.” He saw the word primitive in the sense of old, pre-modern, and rightly argued that having derech eretz has...
Shulchan Aruch – Three Ring Binder Edition
by Dovid Landesman Browsing in one of the larger bookstores in Brooklyn, I overheard the following conversation between a stylishly dressed woman and the proprietor. “I would like to buy my husband some seforim...
Administrative: Twitter Feed
For those who are interested, Cross-Currents now has a Twitter account, so you can “follow” us and be automatically apprised of any new updates. It’s automatic, so all new posts should come to you...