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Josh Fine

What Boy George taught me about being Jewish

The man in sequins has refused to let the dominant culture push him to trade truth for acceptance over more than 40 years. No wonder he ‘stands with the Jews’!

US Vice President JD Vance (AP Photo/Alex Brandon); US Senator Elect Abdul El-Sayed (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, Pool)

Alexandria Fanjoy Silver

In America’s culture war, Israel was the loser

History teaches what happens when Jews become pawns in other people’s battles. This week’s midterm elections offered a chilling reminder

(Pixabay)

Pnina Omer

A woman’s own free will: On the sanctity of the marriage covenant

A healthy marriage means choosing each other anew every day – where turning consent into a mechanism for subjugation warps its very essence (Chayei Sarah)

US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit on April 19, 2026. (Andrew Roth/Sipa USA via AP, via The Times of Israel)

An American rabbi’s letter to Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed

Before you take office, please pick up the phone to Jewish communal leaders in Michigan, meet with them and come prepared to listen – really listen

(courtesy)

Leah Stern

The nasty woman in my neighborhood

It began with cleaning up after my dog. It continued when she yelled at me and my kids. It ended when I gave up the grudge I nursed until I learned how wrong I’d been

Magen David Adom emergency vehicles at the scene of a suspected murder in Petah Tikva, November 2, 2026 (Magen David Adom)

17 women murdered. We cannot accept an 18th victim

Before another woman is killed by a family member, Israel’s next government – and its men – must take responsibility for preventing violence

US aid to Israel costs 4 pints of Guinness a year

Americans pay a pittance. Israel pays with its strategic independence. It’s time to end the arrangement

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Nov 8, 2026, 7:08 AM

Kislev: The Dreams Beyond Darkness

More than any other month, Kislev speaks of dreams. Yaakov sees a ladder reaching towards heaven, with angels ascending and descending. Yosef dreams of sheaves bowing before his own, followed by the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing before...

Alexander Branover

Nov 8, 2026, 7:07 AM

You Cannot Retrain a Two-Thousand-Year-Old Model

Three years after October 7, the Jewish people continue to confront an unrelenting wave of vilification, open hostility, and blood libels. What is perhaps most striking is not only the intensity of this hatred but also its timing. Demonstrations...

Nov 8, 2026, 7:04 AM

The Church as Organized People and Entrusted Power

LOVE MADE SOCIAL — COLUMN 13 OF 16 The church is a spiritual communion, but it is also an institution. It gathers people, receives and distributes money, owns property, employs workers, develops leaders, communicates moral teaching, preserves memory, and maintains...

Nov 8, 2026, 6:51 AM

Treasure Trove: Remembering a War Hero for Both Canada and Israel

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow.

Sydney Simon Shulemson (1915-2007) was Canada’s highest decorated Jewish soldier in World War Two. Born in Montreal, he left McGill University to enlist in the Canadian Air Force and was awarded his wings in 1942. His squadron was part of...

Nov 8, 2026, 6:48 AM

The Votes Are Counted—Now What? How Israel Builds a Government

Screenshot

Israel voted. President Isaac Herzog has given Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form Israel’s 26th Knesset government. Our friends and family in the US are asking us: What just happened ? What comes next ? This post-Israeli election primer...

Nov 8, 2026, 6:23 AM

Iran’s Next Strike: When Will Israel Face the Fire?

Photo Credits: Sabine Sterk ( AI)

Iran’s Next Strike Against Israel: The Question Is No Longer If, but When and Under What Circumstances The greatest mistake Israel could make today is to confuse a weakened Iran with a defeated Iran. The Islamic Republic has suffered devastating...

Nov 8, 2026, 6:21 AM

Difficult Pregnancy

Parshat Toldot begins with the story of Rivka and Yitzchak praying for children. He prayed in his corner and she prayed in her corner. Yitzchak’s prayers were stronger as he was the son of a Tzaddik. Rivka was the daughter...

Nov 8, 2026, 6:18 AM

The Wells We Dig Every Day

This week we read about our forefathers digging wells. Everything our forefathers did presaged our lives. In many ways, they paved the roads that we travel today. Jewish mystics have often said that we dig for water not only...

Jonathan Muskat

Nov 8, 2026, 6:16 AM

To Be a Jew After the Election

There's an old Jewish joke, usually set in Berlin in the 1930s. A Jew is sitting on a park bench reading Der Stürmer, the Nazi newspaper. His friend walks by, horrified. "What are you doing reading that garbage?" And...

Suri Kinzbrunner

Nov 8, 2026, 4:25 AM

5 Messages from Sefer Yirmiyahu

Michelangelo, Jeremiah (1511), Sistine Chapel. Public domain.

Since February of last year, I've been learning a chapter of Nevi'im each day through the OU Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program. Recently, I completed Sefer Yirmiyahu. Before learning the sefer, I thought of Yirmiyahu as the “weeping prophet,” associated...

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