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Stephen M. Flatow

Nov 4, 2026, 10:28 AM

Buy Now, Daven in 2030

There was a time when making aliyah required a certain tolerance for the unknown. Where would you live? Would you understand the guy at the bank? Would anyone at the post office understand you? Would you find a synagogue where somebody didn’t look at you...

Oct 28, 2026, 10:24 PM

Vayera: Prove Yourself

The Internal Belief - Grok XAI

Sticking to a commitment eventually becomes who you are. Get married, do what married people do, stick around long enough, and become a parent. Choose a career and do the necessary work, don’t quit, and find success. Although success is relative to what you envision...

Stephen M. Flatow

Oct 28, 2026, 7:48 AM

They Flew Home to Vote. Now Comes the Harder Question

Whether expatriate Israelis changed the election may never be known. But their remarkable return exposed a question about citizenship that Israel should not forget once the votes are counted. Last week, as tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad prepared to fly home to vote,...

Stephen M. Flatow

Oct 25, 2026, 10:41 AM

Who Says My Vote Is Wasted?

An oleh chadash discovers that casting an Israeli ballot requires political convictions—and a little electoral mathematics. I am about to vote in another Israeli election, and I have a confession to make. I still don’t completely understand how I am supposed to vote. That may...

Stephen M. Flatow

Oct 22, 2026, 3:25 PM

You’re Flying Home to Vote. Where Were You When Israel Needed You?

In the coming days, tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are expected to board airplanes for Israel for one reason: to vote in the October 27 election. I admire their willingness to spend the money, endure the travel and make the effort to participate...

Oct 21, 2026, 7:51 PM

Lech Lecha: Children of Desire

The Children of Desire - GPT

Imagine looking at a picture of the Beis Hamikdash on the wall. As you see it, allow your belief to tell you that this isn’t actually a picture frame hanging on a hook, but rather a window looking out of the house. With strong belief,...

Joseph C. Kaplan

Oct 16, 2026, 10:05 AM

Name-dropping Connections

I really don’t know where to start this column: From Far Rockaway? Teaneck? Gush Etzion? The Upper West Side? Jerusalem? Toronto? All are possibilities, though whichever I choose, I’m afraid that you’ll have to — as we used to say in my yeshiva days —...

Oct 13, 2026, 9:34 PM

Noach: True Strength

True Strength at the Mabul - Grok XAI

The Mabul, the flood! Let’s point our focus on Hashem through this entire episode. The Gemara in Shabbos 88a tells us that when Hashem first created the world He said, “If the Yidden accept the Torah you (creation) will exist, otherwise I will return you...

Oct 9, 2026, 7:30 PM

Bereishis: Reminders

Bereishis - Meta AI

“The reminder isn’t what will remind you; it is the setting of the reminder that will have you reminded even before the reminder reminds.” Bereishis 1:1: “Bereishis Bara Elokim Es Hashamayim V’es Ha’aretz: In the beginning Hashem created the heavens and the earth.” Rashi...

Mordechai Weiss

Oct 7, 2026, 5:32 PM

All Sevenths Are Forever Beloved

Mom with our #7

If you live in the United States and are considering Aliyah, but have concerns about your 11-year-old acclimating to life in Israel, these words are written for you. In Midrash Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah 29:11), we learn that G-d endows the seventh item in a series...

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