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Jul 31, 2019, 2:00 PM

Paternalism, sex abuse, and the eternally unchanging Torah

Illustrative. Israel's chief rabbis convene an emergency meeting with religious Zionist rabbis, against a proposal to overhaul the conversion to Judaism system in the country on June 3, 2018. (Courtesy of the Chief Rabbinate/File)

The Orthodox world today safeguard's this truth: the Torah’s meaning is eternal, unchanging, and decided by men

Jul 22, 2019, 5:43 PM

“You’re Just Like Orly Levy” Said the Interviewer to Yair Lapid

At the Shabbat table, a few nights before the previous elections, my 12-year-old son asked me “if you couldn’t vote for Blue and White, who would you vote for?” I answered “Gesher.” My reason was because the politician that...

Jul 14, 2019, 12:57 PM

Conversion therapy: It isn’t what it sounds like

New head of the Jewish Home party Rabbi Rafi Peretz arrives to the party's preliminary elections in Ramat Gan on February 4, 2019. (Flash90)

Rafi Peretz means well when he aims to help LGBTQ Orthodox Jews who are unhappy with their sexuality, but his efforts are misguided and don't work

Jul 10, 2019, 4:21 PM

Does Bogi Oppose the Rotation with Lapid?—Distracting Us With Gossip

Everybody loves gossip; it is only human. There is a reason why slogans such as “lashon hara le medaber eilay” (gossip doesn’t speak to me) are popular, because the struggle against the impulse is an uphill battle. As a...

Jun 2, 2019, 9:14 PM

Israel Has Six Parties… Sort Of

The attempt to follow Israeli politics, with its dizzying array of political parties, can be overwhelming. This is especially the case for Americans who are used to a two-party system. Not only does Israel have a bevy of religious...

May 30, 2019, 5:06 PM

Liberman’s a weak leftist?

Former defense minister and Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

He's a hawk's hawk! He also believes in a secular state, and the unpredictable right-left divide highlights why we should keep nationalism and religion separate

Apr 30, 2019, 4:47 PM

Hitler Simply Chose the Wrong Side: A Theology of Reversed Racism

Only a week before Holocaust Remembrance Day, news headlines report a statement to the effect that Hitler was right. The statement did not come from the Poway Synagogue shooter’s manifesto, which lists Adolf Hitler as one of his role...

Apr 7, 2019, 1:04 PM

Likud’s New Campaign Promise: Fateful Decisions from Up Against the Ropes

Many of us awoke to the same announcement this morning: Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that in his next term—if he is reelected—he will extend Israeli sovereignty to all the settlements in the West Bank. This would be a...

Feb 25, 2019, 2:24 PM

Smotrich for education minister – and 4 other jokes

Jewish Home MK Bezalel Smotrich in the Knesset on June 8, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Appointing a self-described 'proud homophobe' for the post would be hilarious if Netanyahu hadn't actually proposed it

Feb 17, 2019, 12:29 PM

Gantz, Yaalon, and Lapid: Expedient Alliances Must Still Make Sense

Recent polls have shown that an alliance between Benny Gantz’s Israel Resilience party and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party would receive more votes than Netanyahu’s Likud party. Putting aside whether such a party could then find enough partners to...

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About Me

Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber is the editor of TheTorah.com and a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

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