Blood of Life
That a recent book’s reported claim of Jewish ritual murder in the Middle Ages stirred considerably more commotion in the Jewish media than in the Muslim world may be a hopeful sign. Or it...
Of Pizza and Pie Charts
There has been considerable hullabaloo in the Jewish media of late over Jewish demographics, much of it bewildering (and ultimately saddening), some of it strangely invisible. First there was the study claiming that 60%...
Why We Remember – The Contemporary Relevance of Parshas Zachor
The essay below is adapted from the drasha (semon) delivered last year on Shabbos Zachor (3-11-06) at Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore, MD. A most fascinating news item was brought to my attention earlier...
A Heretic in the Church – II
When last I wrote, it was to report on the politically (and anatomically?) correct move of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute to add a smattering of women to its board, and to voice...
Now we’ve seen it all… Tefillin Barbie
Just in time for Purim comes this item, yours for $95 plus tax, plus another $35 for the Sefer Torah. Truly unsure what to make of this, I called in my local expert on...
Wiki-Orthodoxy and the Undervaluing of Torah
Blogs were a bold step forward for many in the Orthodox world, an experiment in transparency that held great promise. For the first time, there was an open, collaborative forum (the principle behind Wikipedia)...
The Western Wall as Orthodox Synagogue
Word to the Wise: if you want us to write about an article you’ve seen, please send us a tip. All of my last four posts previous to this one came because of articles...
Schocken is no longer shocking
8 b Adar Two years ago the publisher of Haaretz, Amos Schocken, published an op ed in his own paper extoling the virtues of intermarriage, as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian and Jewish-Muslim conflict....
A Call To Arms
The thesis that is the Jewish Nation has an antithesis: Amalek. And just as the Jewish People is defined by its Torah, so is its polar opposite associated with a particular system of thought...
Girls Just Wanna Be Frum — Terrible, We Know
According to the New York Jewish Week, the Modern Orthodox community “may believe that it has made more progress in terms of gender equality than it actually has.” What’s the problem? “Even the most...