20 Dec Chanukah and Mesorah
Some years, my busy season intersects with Chanukah and I cannot get home from work until very late. On those nights, my family lights the Chanukah menorah, fulfilling the mitzvah...
Shabbos Times for Mar 14, 2025 | 14 Adar, 5785 | Parshas Ki Sisa | Candle Lighting Time: 11:42 PM | Havdalah (72 min): 1:12 AM
06 Dec Conversion Annulments
Over the past few years we have witnessed a disturbing questioning of the validity of long-standing conversions to Judaism. This is a very sensitive topic because many converts — nearly...
29 Nov May A Jew Register in a National Muslim Registry
With the emotional and political turmoil in the aftermath of the recent presidential election, there is talk of a national registry of Muslims. It is not clear to me whether...
23 Nov Is Every Day Thanksgiving?
Thanking God should be a normal part of a religious life. We are beneficiaries of so many divine gifts—from the time we wake up each morning with our full physical...
16 Nov Rav Henkin on Carlebach Minyanim
Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin (d. 1973) was the leading halachic decisor in America of his day. He was the address for the most difficult halachic problems. Additionally, as the President...
08 Nov EpiPen Pricing and Jewish Law
Public attention has recently been drawn to the skyrocketing price of EpiPens, which has risen almost 400% since being acquired in 2007 by pharmaceutical company Mylan. EpiPens quickly and easily...
01 Nov Wikileaks and Jewish Law
I. Leaks Revealing confidential information is a breach of trust but sometimes maintaining that privacy is an even bigger breach. While you usually only gain access to confidential information after explicitly...
28 Sep Are House Minyanim Kosher?
People arrange a minyan in their home to accommodate someone sick, elderly or otherwise unable to attend synagogue. When I was a teenager, we had a Shabbos mincha/ma’ariv in someone’s basement because the mile-plus...
20 Sep Are House Minyanim Kosher?
People arrange a minyan in their home to accommodate someone sick, elderly or otherwise unable to attend synagogue. When I was a teenager, we had a Shabbos mincha/ma’ariv in someone’s basement because the mile-plus...
13 Sep Bypassing Kohanim
I. Honoring the Kohen The Torah (Lev. 21:8) commands us to honor kohanim, members of the priestly family, by allowing them to go first (Gittin 59b). We let them go first in...