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...
Rabbi Avraham Blumenkrantz, zt”l
The Yeshive World blog reports: With a heavy heart, I report to you of the Petira of Horav Haposek Rav Avrohom Blumenkrantz ZATZAL. The Levaya details will be posted as they become available. Boruch...
The Green-Eyed Monster
Mercedes recently ran a full page ad in The New York Times. It contained only six words. At the top were two words: “More Power.” Four inches below that were two more words: “More...
Megagiving, Jewish Loyalty, and New Roles for the Orthodox
Among the Jewish super-rich, philanthropy is alive and well. A decreasing share of it, according to a recent issue of Lifestyles magazine, stays within the community. The upshot of this is not so much...
The Kidnapping of Rosa Parks
Rosh Hodesh Adar. Sometimes I go to great lengths for the sake of the Cross-currents blog…. Last week I rode the length and breadth of the Land of Israel on the mehadrin buses in...