Trying to Unravel the Legacy of the Rav
The legacy of Rav Yosef B. Soloveitchik zt”l of RIETS has been an enigma for many. Those in Orthodoxy who rejected Rav Soloveitchik half a century ago were extremely wary and disapproving of his then novel...
What Netanyahu Should Have Learned From Trump According To Mishpacha’s Moshe Grylak
“I rubbed my eyes; perhaps I was dozing.” Thus begins one of the first paragraphs in a very strange op-ed (February 15) by Mishpacha’s editor-in-chief Rabbi Moshe Grylak. With those words, the author expresses...
Curing the Annual Chumash Doldrums: New Volume of Abarbanel
We’re not supposed to say it. But for many people it is true. They have their favorite parshios of Chumash, and their not-quite favorites. The latter begin, for some, this coming week. Nothing wrong,...
Rabbi Bleich’s New Volume: a Potential Life-Saver
Rabbi Dovid Bleich’s volumes on Contemporary Halakhic Problems are the gold standard in evincing the ability of our mesorah and the timeless halachic tradition to respond to changed conditions and advances in knowledge. Volume...
Xenophobia and Loving the Ger
The commandment to love the ger has long been the subject of a tug of war between two camps. Traditional Jews understand it the way the Talmud did – as a reference to a...
Ba’alos Mesorah
In Putting Our Money Where Our Mouths Are, Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz poses an acute challenge to Orthodox communities. The discussion below is not intended to refute Dr. Schwartz, but rather to respond to...
What the Doctor Ordered
A Dutch doctor who ordered an elderly dementia patient’s family to restrain her as she was given a lethal injection was recently cleared of wrongdoing by a panel that considered the case. In 2002,...
Fortunate Fallout?
The fallout of what has most alarmed some about President Trump’s immigration executive order may turn out to be a blessing. There are certainly reasons to question the order, which restricts immigration from seven...
The OU Makes It Unanimous
It is unanimous among Orthodox Jews: Orthodox Judaism is eternal and does not change to accommodate passing trends.
Paskening Like the Blogs
A few people commented to me that it seems like the ruling by the OU Rabbinic Panel that women can’t be ordained or appointed as clergy is getting a real beating, as “everyone is...