Good Teshuva Throw-Away Line
My annual Rosh Hashanah shiur is now available for download A bit of review of important themes in the machshavah of Rosh Hashanah. A few new themes developed (Malchus Hashem; why we have festive...
Redeeming Modern Orthodoxy
The patient is hemorrhaging. In fact, the patient does not seem to even know who he is. It sounds pretty dire. The patient is Modern Orthodoxy, and it in silent crisis mode, as it...
Can Chumros Be Bad For Your Neshamah?
by Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky In his recent post on the “disappearing woman”, Rabbi Adlerstein highlighted two important points in the discussion that have ramifications well beyond the specific topic of eliminating pictures of the...
Protesting in Support of International Beit Din
Do you agree with Rabbi Goldin when he says: “This isn’t a democracy, it’s a halachic process… The power to make decisions has always been in the hands of the few who spend their...
Atticus and the Yomim Nora’im
The American 1960 classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” was in the news this summer, the result of the publication of an earlier version of it, a sequel in reality, that its author, Harper Lee,...
Ultra-Orthodox Ministers Are Some of Israel’s Best
That’s not my headline, it belongs to Ha’aretz. Yes, really! Ha’aretz columnist Gideon Levy is a member of the hard left — his most recent book is entitled The Punishment of Gaza. But in...
Annual Rosh Hashanah Shiur in Los Angeles
Part of the beauty of our community is the seriousness and earnestness with which people approach a Yom Tov. Committed Jews understand that each holiday season makes different oros available to those who ready...
Free Market Judaism and Conversion Standards
Rabbi Michael Broyde and I have been friends for years, maintaining the relationship despite both of us being cognizant of how often and how much we disagree. I respect and admire how much time...
An Equal and Opposite Reaction
The articles about the dearth of female pictures in publications targeting Orthodox readership by Rabbis Adlerstein, Gordimer and Menken, led to many strong, passionate posts and comments, some logical, some strident, some emotional, some mean-spirited and some downright silly.
New Articles: Women’s Talmud Study, P’sak Halacha and Inreach Versus Outreach
Jewish Link of New Jersey asked me to write about the topic of women’s Talmud study, in light of the recent controversy. It was readily assumed and agreed that the article would not be polemical, but that...
