Jammin’ with the Pope
Others can continue the debate about the delegation that visited with the Pope and provided a bit of a musical interlude. R. Yair Hoffman provided excellent historical and halachic background, showing how common such...
Tikvah Institute For Yeshiva Men 2017
For a fourth summer, I will be leading the Tikvah Fund’s special summer resident program for yeshiva men. This program presents a wonderful opportunity for men between the ages of 20-35 who have had...
A Sad Day for American Jewish Media
When it is the editor of The Forward who expresses her "dread, despair and embarrassment" that Israel avoided extermination in 1967, we can express our disappointment, but few of us are surprised.
Homicide Prevention
Observant Jews might be lulled into thinking that the issue of physician-assisted suicide doesn’t affect us personally. After all, while there are certainly cases where treatments may rightfully be declined by patients or,...
The RBS Kerfuffle: Tempest in the Wrong Cholent Pot?
As two sides go at each other about the regularity of attacks on women in Ramat Beit Shemesh, both may be letting another culprits off the hook. No one has invoked Malmo. Or Umea....
Passover: A Message of Personal Responsibility
(This article was just published on American Thinker and was written for a general audience.) Last week, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued recommendations to address the tragic uptick in drug abuse. Included in...
The Riddle of the Fours
Four questions. Four sons. Four expressions of geulah. Four cups of wine. Dam (=44) was placed, in Mitzrayim, on the doorway (deles, “door,” being the technical spelling of what we call the letter daled,...
Why I’m Not Bullish on Fearless Girl
For two decades, I’ve passed “Charging Bull,” the iconic bronze statue that stands near Wall Street, twice every workday when I walk from the Staten Island Ferry to my office in Manhattan. Now I...
Why Is This Shiur Different From All Others?
Actually, it probably isn’t. But if you want to listen anyway, my annual Pesach machshavah shiur is now up and running. About an hour and ten minutes of generally deeper material, citing from Torah...
Callousness or Conscientiousness?
The most incriminatory and unarguable allegation leveled by some Senate Judiciary Committee panelists against Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch was, apparently, that he isn’t Merrick Garland. Guilty as charged. Mr. Garland, of course,...