The Reincarnation of Father Coughlin
Father Charles Coughlin may have been the father of radio demagoguery in the US, cozying up to Hitler in the ‘30’s, and arguing along with Charles Lindbergh for American isolationism. Almost thirty years after...
People,Population,Policy,Planning,Palaver
25 bTammuz The future of the Jewish people is in copper mirrors! That is what I would tell several dozen world Jewish leaders who are convening right now in Jerusalem in order to figure...
The Parking Lot Minyan
by Rabbi Ilan Feldman, Beth Jacob Congregation, Atlanta GA I have good news for those of you in despair about the shtiebelization of American Orthodoxy. I have inadvertently conducted a social science experiment in...
Sacred or Superficial?
Encouraged by a number of my congregants, my wife and I recently visited the impressive ‘Sacred’ exhibition at London’s British Library. Billed as ‘the rarest and most exquisite sacred books and manuscripts presented and...
Conversion Confusion
Israel’s Orthodox Rabbinate has been under siege of late, over the issue – once again – of conversion. And once again as well, the media abound with misinformation. This time, though, some of it...
Yevamos 63 and Embracing the Normal
Most weary Daf Yomi travelers will admit that an interlude of aggada is a welcome respite from the rigors of Yevamos . Parts of Daf 63A, however, were personally jarring. They took me back...
Of Rabbis and Alibis
Since several commenters criticized my fellow contributor Yonason (pardon the Hebrew!) Rosenblum for omitting an individual’s rabbinic title, I thought I’d post a recent correspondence of mine with a JTA editor on the very...
On Making Money
Most of us tend to be impressed by talents that we completely lack: the ability to hit a fastball thrown at 100 mph, dunk a basketball, solve differential equations. Me? I’m fascinated by those...
Democracy and media manipulation
Surprisingly, a recent panel on Israel Radio at Haifa University did not draw the media attention it deserved. At that panel, Hanan Naveh, the chief editor on the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s news desk at...
The Jews Killed Their Mouse
Perhaps Aksa-TV was getting too much flak for using a Mickey Mouse clone to teach children to “annihilate the Jews.” So they decided to take him off the air — but by having a...