Let’s Call Them Modern Chasidim
The problem is that Tuna Beigel is a pejorative.
When a Heretic Speak Heresy Against Heretics
For deviating from the orthodox scientific position, Nagel has been abused, maligned, outcast, and insulted.
Privacy and Government Snooping in Jewish Law
There is standing prohibition in Jewish law against sharing anything revealed in private conversation.
We Are Going in the Wrong Direction
For some, guilt by association is actual guilt. For these people, who you know and with whom you associate determine your credibility.
Torah M’Sinai According to Professor Tamar Ross
The revelation continues as the world progressed and however the Torah was emended or edited after Sinai was part of revelation.
The False Flag of False Accusations in Sex Abuse Cases
The NY Times has a very (appropriately) one-sided article on the Baruch Lebovits and Sam Kellner situation.
Modesty Messages from a Mormon
Mormons are expected to be chaste in every possible way and this can be particularly difficult for young men.
On the Shoulders of (Imperfect) Giants
In order to truly appreciate Torah, one must be a master over one’s spirit as well.
Monsey Kosher Market ‘Integration’ Great Idea, Terrible Execution (Video)
It’s really not that different than the situation in Israel with the charedim. Both situations need insiders to make the change happen.
The Challenge of Modesty
There is no real theological reason that tznius be heavily codified in Jewish law while other areas of our lives that require modesty are left to our whims and desires.
Satmar Matzah as New York Times Front Page News
This kind of stringency borders on silliness.
Ruminations on Meditation
Many great Jewish thinkers have described Jewish prayer as a form of meditation.
My Appearance with Rabbi Shafran on ‘Talkline with Zev Brenner’
The gist of Rabbi Shafran’s argument was that Rabbi Sacks was criticizing a legitimate form of orthodox Judaism and was doing so from a place of ignorance.
Don’t Believe Everything They Say About Us
Human nature is such that hearing something over and over again for forty years will inevitably have an impact on the person.
Meeting the Challenge of Tisha B’Av: a Proposal
Can we hear the agony in his words? Can we step into his shoes and experience his torment?
Modern Racism
Categorizing all black people as one large group where the acts of one black person in Florida somehow tell us something about a different black person in Seattle is racist.
Can You Cry ‘Heresy’ in a Crowded Beit Midrash?
Why does a opinion in the Talmud say the last verses in Devarim were not written by Moses? Was it the easiest solution to a very obvious problem?
The People Are Looking for Answers
A rabbi who writes controversial things becomes international news.
New Republic Article on Feminism from Zion Is All About the Stakes
The article argues that while naturally aligned with their fellow orthodox Jews, women from the modern orthodox community in Israel are finding themselves aligned with secular feminists.
Haredi Censorship of Torah
Certain books are excised from the subscription, in order to reinforce an imaginary history where nothing was inconsistent with Haredi Judaism.
Man-Made Meat? A fence for Wisdom is Silence
The proper response for almost the entire population of planet Earth to these eternal questions about man-made meat is “I am not qualified to render an opinion on this matter.”
What’s Wrong With the Star-K Kosher Phone?
A kashrus agency should be concerned with one thing and one thing only: the kosher status of our food.
Can One Be a Shomer Torah u’Mitzvos and Accept Bible Criticism?
Historians currently assume the Bible was written between 720 BCE and 587 BCE, between the destruction of the Northern Kingdom and the destruction of Jerusalem.
What Kind of Community Needs to Hear this?
Rabbis have to stop dismissing everything that comes from outside the Beis Medrash.
What Kind of Life Shall We Choose?
Dvar Torah for Nitzavim Vayelech.
Abuse in New Square
This kid gets a medal for coming forward.
Educating about Abuse without Stigmatizing Victims
Organic dating has its own set of problems that the shidduch system can help avoid.
Why Do Rabbis Make Jokes at Serious Times?
It’s even more strange when the jokes come at our holiest times of the year.
Video Mocking Rabbinic Sermons Was in Bad Taste
Spontaneity and quirkiness have their place but a sermon is neither the time nor place for either of those.
R’ Eliezer Knew More Science than R’ Yehoshua
According to the Torah Temimah...