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Nurit Gil

The report card no one sees

In Israel, I learned to measure my children’s education not only by their grades, but also by how they navigate the country, cook a meal – and deal with war

9/11

Orly Lavi Travish

Between memory and history

My Hebrew students weren’t alive on September 11, 2001. If memory is to survive as more than a date in a textbook, I have to teach them the vocabulary to pass it on

At the 9/11 memorial on the west side of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on September 11, 2023, many civilians came to commemorate the US Department of Defense staff and rescue workers who were killed in a terrorist attack 22 years ago. (iStock)

Gayle Meyers

Rushing forward, seized with fear

Crises like the terror attacks of 9/11 summon us with the trumpet of bravery and the still, small voice of love, as we write our stories with our deeds (Rosh Hashanah)

President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, September 8, 2026. (Kobi Gideon / GPO)

Isaac Herzog

A Rosh Hashanah message to the Jewish people

After all the pain and longing, the majestic notes of the shofar carry three calls that bring us into a better future

Dan Moskovitz

Boy George goes to shul

The pop icon’s new song felt like a hug from a stranger. When he came to our synagogue, we finally got to hug him back

Image created by the author.

Talyah Ginsberg

‘One day’ is not a day of the week

Recently attuned to the risk that everything I postpone won’t eventually get its turn, I find myself willing to take the first steps to finding out how far I might go

Bighorn sheep (Valentina Gatewood / iStock)

How could a ram replace Isaac in the Akedah?

In a different reading of the biblical story, one crucial quality made it possible for an animal to be substituted for a person

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Sep 14, 2026, 6:54 AM

Why Washington Should Rethink the Falklands

Milei’s Argentina has stood with President Trump and Israel when it mattered, while Britain has chosen a different course. Washington should reconsider a Falklands policy rooted in the alliances and circumstances of 1982. In March, as President Trump sought international...

Sep 14, 2026, 6:50 AM

Sherith Israel of Nashville: Where Faith, Music and Community Meet

Music at Sherith Israel (Source: Sherith Israel of Nashville, TN)

Congregation Sherith Israel is a welcoming Jewish community in Nashville that brings together people of different backgrounds, levels of observance, and Jewish knowledge. Its services are warm and participatory, featuring meaningful Torah teachings and beautiful harmony. Music is an important...

Sep 14, 2026, 6:49 AM

Mark Ruffalo: How Dark Waters Became Murky

Years before Mark Ruffalo made Dark Waters, I was teaching the story behind the film to students in my Contemporary Science and Technology class at Suffolk University. My students read and analyzed the New York Times Magazine investigation of...

Gershon Blumstein

Sep 14, 2026, 6:47 AM

What the Rosh Hashanah Editorial Missed

When I read the Times of Israel’s Rosh Hashanah message this year, I felt something I didn’t expect: not fear, not anger, but a kind of spiritual disorientation. The editorial lays out the geopolitical reality with stark clarity —...

Ibrahim Mukherjee

Sep 14, 2026, 6:46 AM

On Dental and Digital Hygiene.

Dental and Digital Hygiene :- Brush Your Teeth. Brush Your Feed. There is a reason we brush our teeth: residue becomes plaque. What begins as something almost invisible can, if repeatedly left in place, become inflammation, decay and disease. Islam built...

Andy Blumenthal

Sep 14, 2026, 6:45 AM

The Laps We Keep Walking

On Rosh Hashanah, we come to synagogue carrying more than a prayer book. We carry the year that was: the disappointments we did not expect, the fears we did not voice, the losses we still cannot quite name, and the...

Allen S. Maller

Sep 14, 2026, 6:44 AM

River to Sea Palestinians and Israelis Must Reject Hatred and Suffering

Secret 1993 Peres-Hussein meeting helped pave the way for Israel-Jordan peace, revealed documents show. The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation described the historic exchange as a kind of "testament for peace" by two leaders who sought to change...

Tom Wasserstein

Sep 14, 2026, 6:40 AM

Healing Israel Starts With Talking About Mental Health

The Quiet Tent on the campus of Afeka College of Engineering

Israelis are facing a major challenge today. For the past three years, huge numbers of men and women have been called up for reserve duty. But when they return to civilian life, many struggle to make the transition. Soldiers...

Isaac Steven Herschkopf

Sep 14, 2026, 6:38 AM

The Book of Death: “Remember!”

"What's brave, what's noble... And make death proud to take us." - Antony and Cleopatra, IV, 13, William Shakespeare (1607) The High Holidays focus on The Book of Life being inscribed, then sealed therein. And yet, the most heavily attended service...

Eugene J. Levin

Sep 14, 2026, 6:36 AM

Lithuania’s Holocaust Chronology Skips Yom Kippur 1941

When the synagogues were full, Germans and Lithuanians entered Vilna’s ghetto. The state chronology prints October 1941 as “several actions.” Yom Kippur 5787 begins at sundown on September 20, 2026. Eighty-five years earlier, Yom Kippur 5702 began at sundown on...

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