One can scarcely appreciate the pain and suffering of a couple bound in the grips of infertility without properly appreciating that for which they so long — the one-of-a-kind joy…
The year 2020 will go down in the books as containing one of the more unusual Rosh Hashanahs in Jewish history. For the majority of Jews in America, synagogue gatherings…
While it’s hard to imagine that it has already been more than two months since the coronavirus stay-at-home policies began, the underlying, widely persistent familial friction pulsating in many of…
“If I had the power I would provisionally close all synagogues for a hundred years. Do not tremble at the thought of it, Jewish heart. What would happen? Jews and…
How does the Torah view the ultimate punishment? Ray Jefferson Cromartie is set to be executed in my home state of Georgia in just under three days as of the…
In ancient Israel, Jewish farmers were obligated to give portions of their harvest to members of the tribe of Levi (the tribe not given an inheritance in the land of…
The sages provide potential solutions to undocumented immigrant problem With more than 10 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States, proponents from both sides of the…
Every year, on the first night of the holiday of Shavuot, I deliver a Torah class about a timely political or social topic. The more controversial, the better; after all,…
Pesach sure gives slavery a bad rap. After all, the Seder’s dominant theme is that of the Israelites moving away from slavery and toward a life of freedom. And the…
We got the Torah on Shavuot, but you won’t find any 9-year-olds dressed up as Moses, holding up cut-out-cardboard Ten Commandments, anywhere in synagogue over that holiday. Not many Maccabee…
