[This article requires knowledge of Talmudic idioms and the yeshivos of Europe in order to be fully understood. Apologies in advance to those who do not understand many of the terms; it would have...

Do you know whether the chair you are sitting on actually exists? At first glance, it seems like a silly question, but — as my correspondent pointed out — the truth is considerably more...

Jack Wertheimer, provost of the Jewish Theological Seminary, has written a terrific, must-read article for the latest issue of Commentary. “Jews and the Jewish Birthrate” is chock full of ideas and data that add...

Beginning on Rosh Hashanah and continuing through Yom Kippur, we add at the beginning of every Shemoneh Esrai, “Remember us for life, O King, Who desires life? What precisely is this life for which...

James Taranto of Opinion Journal had some good fun at the expense of The New York Times editorial page last week. He compared the Times’ editorial urging Senators to vote no on President Bush’s...

From a Jerusalem newspaper: Although here and there one still sees the orange ribbons that signified opposition to the disengagement, they have by and large disappeared from the Israeli scene. A LAMENTATION FOR OUR...

25 bEllul Some time ago an ultra-Orthodox couple who are Harvard Ph.D’s and who live in Bene Brak, a haredi city here, initiated a meeting of Harvard alumni in Israel in order to discuss...

And the words of the prophet they are written on the subway walls… – Paul Simon So many of those seers came forth after Katrina, that the walls of the 34th St Station could...

I was recently asked to explain why in business settings many orthodox Jews do not shake hands with members of the opposite gender. Here is how I responded: “Traditional Judaism places a premium on...

With all the talk about freedom of religion in this country, we must recognize that not only minorities need that freedom. Sometimes it is the religious rights of others that are impaired — and...