I.Which Charity? Many people in the Jewish community have achieved varieties of financial success, allowing them the privilege of supporting many charities. This raises questions of communal and philanthropic priorities. Others...
The Gotta Go app allows you to program excuses in advance. With the press of a button, you can active time-delayed texts and/or phone calls that will interrupt your uncomfortable...
I. Lighting in Danger The Gemara (Shabbos 21b) says that you must light your Chanukah menorah near the doorway (opening, pesach) of your house on the outside. If you live on...
There is talk in the U.S. about taxing the wealth of the superrich. Without engaging in d i s c u s s i o n about proper policy today, I would like to explore the concept of a...
I. What A Rabbi Does Most of us have been to enough Jewish weddings that we know how they work. We can easily officiate. Even without a big crowd, all a man has to do is give a woman a...
The concept of “Bashert,” a person’s soulmate, warms the heart and plays into our notions of romance. The Gemara (Sotah 2a) says that forty days before the creation of a...
Even those with only a passing knowledge of the Five Books of Moses recognize the death penalty applied to various sins. The Oral Torah, committed to writing centuries later, explains...
P i d y o n i m Shevuyim means redeeming a captive, paying s o m e o n e ’ s ransom. It is among the highest priorities of mitzvos. Shulchan Arukh (Yoreh De’ah 252:1) is more important than...
I. The Problematic Theology of the Stranger Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt”l, whose first yahrtzeit falls this year on October 26 (20 Cheshvan), opened up Jewish thought to a broader audience with...
The passing of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l, whose first yahrtzeit falls this year on October 26 (20 Cheshvan), left thousands if not millions of people of faith — Orthodox...