Abraham, the complex ‘man of faith’
By Rabbi Stefan WeinbergParashat Vayera I have often thought the first sentence in the Tanakh (Bible) is the most damaging. Too many people read the opening lines of the Torah,…
Books: questions, answers and an upcoming event
Dear Families, It’s no secret that I am a hopeless biblioholic — I can’t stop buying books (and I do read most of them!). Since I have so many, I…
Why do we perform a bris?
Dear Rabbi Fried, We have been blessed with a baby boy and held the bris this week, and have some questions in that regard. Why is there a mitzvah to…
Addressing domestic and family violence
I recently asked you who read my columns to suggest topics you’d like explored. The first answer I received: a reminder that this is October, now titled Domestic and Family…
Avraham’s willingness to follow divine instruction
By Rabbi Dan LewinParashat Lech Lecha We are currently in the third week after beginning the Torah cycle anew. The opening section, Bereishit, dealt with the creation of the wonders…
Unity in difference: We are all created b’tzelem Elohim
By Josh Yudkin For the past two months, I have been in Colombia conducting healthcare research. As we start the new Jewish year 5782, I reflect on a shared belief…
Tzedakah: public or private?
Dear Rabbi Fried, Your organization DATA recently ran an online fundraising campaign which listed publicly all the names of the donors to the campaign, (unless the donor wrote anonymous). I…
Reminiscing of snow-filled days that are definitely not missed
I write this on a nasty-looking day. On my west window, I see spatterings of the rain that recently descended quite quickly, then departed the same way. It’s the kind…
Bal taschit: the value of ‘do not destroy’
Dear Families, Fortunately, the J has been open in various stages since May 2020. But now, as we look forward to opening more and more, we all have really begun…
FDR’s secret plea to Hitler in 1936
By Rafael Medoff (Jewish Journal via JNS) President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a secret plea to Adolf Hitler in the summer of 1936, according to newly-uncovered documents. It wasn’t a…