Spirituality/Tradition
My Week Across Israel in 5 Pictures
JNS.org - This week I have had the privilege of traveling around Israel with a group of South Africans who are all journalists, professors, and/or...
20 Inspiring Jewish Valentine’s Day Quotes
JNS.org - For the stringent Jew, Valentine’s Day clearly has nothing on Judaism’s own love fest Tu B’Av. For the cynics among us, the Feb. 14 holiday is nothing but a commercialized festival exemplifying everything materialistic in...
Home of Freud and…Pita? Israelis Make Culinary Mark in Vienna
JNS.org - Several Viennese Jews have made a lasting impact on the world. Sigmund Freud’s investigations changed the face of modern psychology. Composer Arnold Schoenberg’s innovations in atonal music changed the face of music. These days,...
We Must Show Our Children That Judaism Is a Religion of Rebellion
The establishment of the state of Israel, together with the challenges that modernity has presented to the Jewish people, have confronted Judaism with a reality unlike any other that it has encountered for nearly 2,000...
At Presidents Day, Un-presidential ‘Joke’ About Jews is Whitewashed
JNS.org - Another Presidents Day, another whitewash of a president’s “joke” about Jews. The latest offender is...
To Be Jewish Means to Give
It was the first Israelite house of worship, the first home Jews made for God....
Modern Orthodox Education Caught Between…Modern and Orthodox
JNS.org - When the Pew Research Center published its much-discussed survey of American Jews in 2013,...
Women of Chabad Shatter ‘Preconceived Notions’ at Leadership Conference
JNS.org - More accustomed to seeing the annual “class picture” of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement’s rabbinical...
Gaming the System: Thoughts on ‘Beingness’
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s all-too-often difficult to resist the temptation...
My Week Across Israel in 5 Pictures
JNS.org - This week I have had the privilege of traveling around Israel with a group of South Africans who are all journalists, professors, and/or editors...
20 Inspiring Jewish Valentine’s Day Quotes
JNS.org - For the stringent Jew, Valentine’s Day clearly has nothing on Judaism’s own love fest Tu B’Av. For the cynics among us, the Feb. 14 holiday...
Home of Freud and…Pita? Israelis Make Culinary Mark in Vienna
JNS.org - Several Viennese Jews have made a lasting impact on the world. Sigmund Freud’s investigations changed the face of modern psychology. Composer Arnold Schoenberg’s innovations...
We Must Show Our Children That Judaism Is a Religion of Rebellion
The establishment of the state of Israel, together with the challenges that modernity has presented to the Jewish people, have confronted Judaism with a reality...
At Presidents Day, Un-presidential ‘Joke’ About Jews is Whitewashed
JNS.org - Another Presidents Day, another whitewash of a president’s “joke” about Jews. The latest offender is Susan Butler’s “Roosevelt and Stalin: Portrait of a Partnership” (published...
To Be Jewish Means to Give
It was the first Israelite house of worship, the first home Jews made for God. But the very idea is fraught with paradox, even contradiction....
Modern Orthodox Education Caught Between…Modern and Orthodox
JNS.org - When the Pew Research Center published its much-discussed survey of American Jews in 2013, the findings seemed auspicious for the Orthodox denomination. Orthodox Jews...
Women of Chabad Shatter ‘Preconceived Notions’ at Leadership Conference
JNS.org - More accustomed to seeing the annual “class picture” of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement’s rabbinical emissaries at their annual conference? Chabad is spotlighting its female...
Gaming the System: Thoughts on ‘Beingness’
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s all-too-often difficult to resist the temptation to do a cost-benefit analysis when asked to do something....
Torah Values and Why We Oppose Resettling Syrian Refugees
J Street rabbis, resettlement contractor HIAS (which stands to receive millions of our tax dollars to resettle Syrian migrants throughout the US) and President Obama...
Bernie Sanders Jokes About Being ‘Too Jewish’ for America During ‘SNL’ Skit (VIDEO)
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders pretended to be a Jewish immigrant heading to America in a skit on Saturday Night Live this week. Sanders appeared alongside Seinfeld creator...
The Brewish State: Israel Taps Into Growing Craft Beer Bazaar
JNS.org - It’s widely known that Israel has penetrated the wine market, with some of its sophisticated Israeli blends surpassing historically excellent wines from areas such...
True Religion Is Caring Deeply for All Human Beings
Earlier today, I read a report about a "Pro-Life Congress" last week in Santa Ana. Before I delve into what caught my eye about the...
The Lines That Divide Us as Jews — and Human Beings
Fifty years ago, I had the privilege of studying in a great yeshiva in Israel. In those days, there were none of the more modern...
