Paul Mendlowitz

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Jul 16, 2025, 8:00 AM

The Vilna Gaon was open to all wisdom, wherever it may be found

Portrait Of The Gaon From Wikipedia The Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, 1720–1797), widely regarded as one of the greatest Torah scholars in Jewish history, is often portrayed as the embodiment of pure Torah devotion—immersed day and night...

Jul 13, 2025, 10:15 PM

Gaza’s Grim Math — What Are We Really Fighting For?

Since the so-called “ceasefire” collapsed in March, 41 Israeli soldiers have been killed and hundreds more wounded. In that same time, the number of living hostages believed to remain in Gaza has dwindled to roughly twenty. Thirty are confirmed...

Jul 10, 2025, 6:26 PM

How Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz Would View Today’s Haredim

What Would Reb Shraga Feivel Say? Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, the legendary founder of Torah Vodaath and Torah Umesorah , a trailblazer of American Torah Jewry, was a man of vision, balance, and bravery. A man who built Torah in...

Jul 9, 2025, 11:09 PM

No deal is sacred. No alliance eternal.

That’s the game in the Middle East: what is promised at noon can be revoked by dusk. The Land of Israel was won not through diplomacy, but resilience; not by White House decrees, but Jewish blood, sweat, and prayer. Promises...

Jul 8, 2025, 7:06 PM

‘And They Turned the Holy into a Circus’

Yitzchok Zilberstein - BANNING CHOLENT ON WEEKDAYS! WIKIPEDIA: Yitzchok Zilberstein (Hebrew: יצחק זילברשטיין, also spelled Silberstein) (born 1934) is a prominent Orthodox rabbi, posek (Jewish legal authority) His opinion is frequently sought and quoted on all matters of halakha for...

Jul 2, 2025, 7:37 AM

Habad has done incalculable good for Am Yisrael…

I write these words with both love and trepidation. Love, because Chabad has done incalculable good for Am Yisrael... Deeply un-Jewish In every generation, we are tested. Not always by persecution or assimilation, but sometimes by something far more subtle: the...

Jun 26, 2025, 1:27 PM

Satmars, Agudaniks, Yeshivaniks, lend me your hats

"We came to bury Cuomo, not to praise him." Enter Zohran Kwame Mamdani: If Cuomo tried to regulate your Purim party, Mamdani wants to cancel your homeland. The Orthodox world thought they fought their battle with the state during COVID. They...

Jun 25, 2025, 8:20 AM

Germany to Israel: Thanks For Doing Our Dirty Work

In a recent and widely noted statement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that “Israel is doing the dirty work for all of us”—a phrase that instantly triggered debate across Europe and the Middle East. While intended as a form...

Jun 24, 2025, 8:08 AM

A note of gratitude from a Jewish never-Trumper

President Donald Trump departs after speaking from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 21, 2025, after the U.S. military struck three Iranian nuclear and military sites, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program. (Carlos Barria/Pool via AP)

For one surreal moment, I watched as the world’s most unpredictable man did the most predictable and necessary thing

Jun 18, 2025, 9:24 PM

Why Trump Is Delaying Joining the Iran-Israel War

Because This War, Like Everything Else, Has to Be About Him In the combustible theater of Middle East politics, where allies demand loyalty and enemies rarely wait their turn, Donald Trump is—unsurprisingly—taking his time. The Iran-Israel war is escalating, rockets...

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About Me

'The Unorthodox Jew' is a blog that critically examines aspects of Orthodox Judaism, offering in-depth analysis and commentary on contemporary issues within the community. Authored by an Orthodox writer, the blog delves into controversial and often sensitive topics, aiming to foster dialogue and reflection. With a focus on accountability and transparency, the blog serves as a platform for discussing challenges and advocating for change within Orthodox Jewish practices and leadership.