Hekhsher Tzedek is Not the Way to Go
What does it take to get two very opinionated writers to drop their differences and collaborate on a hot topic? A shared feeling that the topic is too important to go without comment. That...
Sukkah-Vision
The defining element of the sukkah – the temporary dwelling in which Jews are commanded to spend a week each autumn, beginning five days after Yom Kippur – is the once-growing but now detached...
Halacha Meets the Subprime Market
Being completely unschooled in the dismal science, I have nothing to say about the economic mess major parts of the very intertwined world finds itself in at the moment. In lieu of analysis, I...
Change is Possible
Rabbeinu Yonah discusses various barriers to teshuva in Sha’arei Teshuva. But perhaps the greatest barrier most of us experience is a lack of belief in our capacity to change. In this month of teshuva,...
New Issue of Tradition (1)
A new volume of Tradition (available for paid download only) arrived in the mail a few days ago. A memorial volume offered in tribute to Rabbi Dr Walter Wurzburger z”l, it is especially rich...
Yad Vashem & the Pomegranates of Rosh Hashana
The place:Liberated Theresienstadt. Date: May 1945. Hanna, a survivor, recalls: “I thought to myself: ‘I am now free. I am actually free to do whatever I want.’ But I had nowhere to go. I...
Hidden messages in Obama ad
An ad has run quite a few times on the radio over the past few days, and it goes something like this. A mother’s voice says, “Eight times a day I have to test...
Momentous Moments
The weeks before a presidential election provide spiritual fodder for the week between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Throughout political campaigns, candidates and their handlers are keenly aware of the great toll a simple...
Unesaneh Tokef, Updated
Music in the hands of the old masters, wrote R Yehuda Halevi (Kuzari 2:64-65) could change people’s moods and dispositions. Alas, by the modern times of the 12th century introduced cultural degeneracy such that...
Barry and the Supremes
Trying, as always, to do my small part to ensure media objectivity, I present below an e-mail exchange I recently had with a JTA reporter on a topic that ought to rank very high...