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Michael Feldstein

Jun 21, 2026, 6:21 PM

What’s in a Name?

Credit: Gemini

Have you ever wondered how we decided on our deeply ingrained customs for naming children? If you grew up in an Ashkenazi household, you probably take it for granted that you name a baby after a beloved relative who has...

Jun 20, 2026, 10:23 AM

The Power of Self-Selection

Perhaps self-selection is one of the most overlooked forces in human history. Photo: Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out for photographer Arthur Sasse after his 72nd birthday party on March 14, 1951. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Hidden Force Behind Success Why are Jews disproportionately represented among Nobel Prize winners, scientists, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals? Why did America become the world’s dominant economic and technological power? Why did Israel transform itself from a poor, newly established state into one...

Jun 17, 2026, 5:53 AM

The Yidkins Diet

Pesach may be long over, but that old adage, "Matzah, 18 minutes on the lips, a lifetime on the hips," is still just as true. With Summer almost upon us, it can only mean one thing: We all need...

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

May 29, 2026, 7:01 AM

Israel’s Haredim: 50 Shades of Black

OK, so the headline here is slightly exaggerated. Israel’s ultra-Orthodox might come in “only” 10-20 different varieties, not 50. However, given that many non-Haredi Israelis view them monolithically (a perception probably more prevalent in the Diaspora), it is important...

Jose Lev Alvarez Gomez

May 27, 2026, 11:18 AM

Europe Needs Israel to Join the European Union

Europe is careening toward strategic irrelevance as Iranian proxies tighten their noose around its southern flank and radical Islam spreads through its streets and no-go zones. Israel is the hard-power partner the European Union can no longer afford to...

May 27, 2026, 4:20 AM

Why the Chareidi & Dati Leumi Divide Goes Deeper Than Strictness

We are looking inside a world that outsiders flatten (David Katash, FrockInStock.com).

It is not a frumkeit ranking, but a question of religious instinct, cultural memory, and which world feels like home. Recently, I saw an online discussion on Imamother — a popular online forum for frum women — about whether there...

May 20, 2026, 4:44 AM

Shavuot, an Almost Forgotten Festival

The Jewish calendar contains three major pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, collectively known as the Shalosh Regalim, the “Three Pilgrimage Festivals.” In Temple times, Jews would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the festivals at the Beit HaMikdash, the...

May 19, 2026, 8:28 PM

The Second Driveway

The first time taught me what to look for. The second time, I already knew. I was fourteen the first time I came home to a driveway full of cars and didn't understand what I was looking at. It was January...

Jose Lev Alvarez Gomez

May 19, 2026, 2:13 PM

Mamdani Hates Israel. Stop Pretending Otherwise.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, and his wife Rama Duwaji wave at members of media after a news conference at Gracie Mansion, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

American Democratic Jews who consider themselves Zionists must abandon Zohran Mamdani. He advances a clear anti-Israel agenda while using a small circle of extreme-left Jewish activists as political cover. This tactic allows him to claim immunity from accusations of...

Cate Rubenstein

May 16, 2026, 4:55 PM

Don’t tell me to pray.

Don’t tell me to pray. Don’t tell me not to pray Don’t tell me when or how to pray. Stay out of my relationship (and if I have one) with Hashem entirely. Don’t tell me what to do, when it comes to private...

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