Spirituality/Tradition
Can Yom Kippur Atonement Be Accomplished in 140 Characters or Less?
JNS.org - Coming from a non-observant family of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel, a country where many people tend to lead...
Judaism Is Defined by Joy
Happiness, said Aristotle, is the ultimate goal at which all humans aim. But in Judaism it is not necessarily so. Happiness is a high value. Ashrei, the closest Hebrew word to happiness, is the first word of...
Nonkosher Food for Thought
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a three-day visit to Italy. On Thursday, he attended the Israeli pavilion at the Expo Milano 2015. As head of the "startup nation," he rightly boasted of Israel's achievements...
It’s Time to Disband Israel’s State-Sponsored Rabbinical Leadership
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I read that Separdi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has extended the ban on television and computers by decreeing that anyone using the “abomination” of smartphones be prohibited from leading...
Second Temple-Era Stairs Discovered in Jerusalem
JNS.org - Archaeologists discovered a flight of stairs in the shape of a pyramid that...
In the Ashkenazi Heartland, a Struggle Over Ruins and Jewish Memory
JNS.org - Walking through Lviv, a Ukrainian city near the Polish border whose Jewish population is...
15 Ways Being Jewish Is Meaningful
Surveys reveal a disturbingly large number of American Jews who feel disconnected from their Jewish...
For Hikers, Israel’s 620-Mile National Trail Brings Jewish History to Life
JNS.org - It was a brave—some may argue foolhardy—lot who recently braved the August heat of...
Children Do Suffer the Sins of Their Parents
There is, on the face of it, a fundamental contradiction in the Torah. On the...
Can Yom Kippur Atonement Be Accomplished in 140 Characters or Less?
JNS.org - Coming from a non-observant family of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel, a country where many people tend to lead secular...
Judaism Is Defined by Joy
Happiness, said Aristotle, is the ultimate goal at which all humans aim. But in Judaism it is not necessarily so. Happiness is a high value. Ashrei, the...
Nonkosher Food for Thought
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a three-day visit to Italy. On Thursday, he attended the Israeli pavilion at the Expo Milano 2015. As head...
It’s Time to Disband Israel’s State-Sponsored Rabbinical Leadership
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I read that Separdi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has extended the ban on television and computers by decreeing that...
Second Temple-Era Stairs Discovered in Jerusalem
JNS.org - Archaeologists discovered a flight of stairs in the shape of a pyramid that is 2,000 years old in Jerusalem's City of David National...
In the Ashkenazi Heartland, a Struggle Over Ruins and Jewish Memory
JNS.org - Walking through Lviv, a Ukrainian city near the Polish border whose Jewish population is a small fraction of what it once was, it’s not...
15 Ways Being Jewish Is Meaningful
Surveys reveal a disturbingly large number of American Jews who feel disconnected from their Jewish identity. How painfully sad! In response, and with the High...
For Hikers, Israel’s 620-Mile National Trail Brings Jewish History to Life
JNS.org - It was a brave—some may argue foolhardy—lot who recently braved the August heat of the Negev desert to walk a short segment of the Israel...
Children Do Suffer the Sins of Their Parents
There is, on the face of it, a fundamental contradiction in the Torah. On the one hand we hear, in the passage known as the...
Why Rabbis Have an Obligation to Oppose the Iran Deal
It was a meeting I will never forget. Some 20 years ago, after receiving my rabbinic ordination, I sought the advice of my dear mentor and world-renowned scholar, Rabbi...
Prophetesses of the Jews
Rabbenu Hananel, Rashi, and the Vilna Gaon -- the rabbinic sages who engaged in typology -- all enumerated seven identical Jewish prophetesses. These included a Matriarch,...
Prophets of the Jews
According to the Talmud, the Jewish people produced 48 prophets and seven prophetesses (Tractate Megillah 14a). In the Middle Ages, Rabbenu Hananel ben Hushiel (990-1053 CE)...
Israel’s First Chief Rabbi Saw Jews, Christians Working Together to Bring Messiah
BreakingIsraelNews.com/JNS.org- Rabbi Abraham Issac HaCohen Kook, who passed away 80 years ago this week on the Hebrew calendar, was a powerful force in the beginning of...
The Big Bang and the Theory of Everything From Nothing
JNS.org - “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) These...
