A funny thing happened on the way to writing this blog. During Pesach, two major funerals took place here in Israel. One was for Ezer Weizman, former president of Israel; the other, for Rav...

The above is said when completing Tractate “Brachos” of the Talmud, and those who are studying the Daf Yomi, a page of Talmud daily, completed this, the first tractate, on Tuesday. Yes, I’m a...

Question: The last number of weeks have been marked by three spectacles — the Schiavo saga, the funeral of the old pope and the investiture of the new one — that have riveted public...

Writing is not the only thing that I do, nor is it the main thing that I do. I suppose that much the same can be said about most writers, but there is a...

For Jewish day school children everywhere, one potential highlight of the holiday season is a biannual ritual known as the “Chol HaMoed trip,” a family outing taken during the “intermediate days” of Pesach and...

As official Jewish spokespeople weigh in on the new Pope, I find their analysis comes up short for my tastes. Most concentrated on his membership in Hitler Youth (forgivable- it wasn’t his choice; there...

With everyone busy preparing for Pesach [Passover], I thought to pass along the following: Ner L’Elef, a training institute for Jewish outreach and leadership based in Jerusalem, has published a Seder Guide written by...

There are good reasons why so many religious Jews – and the number is growing – go to hotels for Pesach. Some have too few people around the table to make a seder, while...

Some time ago, we reported the about-face of one of the most vocal proponents of atheism in modern times. British philosopher Anthony Flew announced that he had grave misgivings about his stance of many...