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Aug 20, 2026, 1:09 PM

We Don’t Walk Away

Created by Gemini AI 8.20.26

For more than 40 years - having stepped into this sacred calling when I was barely more than a young man myself - I have had the profound privilege of serving as a mohel. Over those four decades, standing...

Aug 12, 2026, 2:24 PM

Why Did the Kessim Laugh at Elijah’s Chair?

At the most recent session of Ono Academic College’s Beit Midrash of Bete Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Rabbis and Kessim (traditional Bete Israel spiritual leaders), one of the Kessim looked around with a half-smile and asked: “What is this thing...

Jul 31, 2026, 7:50 PM

5 Techniques to Modernize the Brit Milah

The Grass Skirt, one of many exciting options for the modern circumcision.

With the new year now upon us, it is time to look towards the future of Judaism. The future starts, where it does, with half of us, the circumcision. For generations, the brit milah has been the same: drink,...

Peter Himmelman

Jul 16, 2026, 9:02 PM

The Nexus Point: Reflections on a Seattle Morning, and a New Grandson

I went to sleep late last night, and, as is common for me these days, I woke much earlier than I would have hoped. Not surprising, though. Later today, we will celebrate the bris of another grandson, born just...

Apr 15, 2026, 8:01 AM

Microplastics and Israel

I’m watching C-SPAN, where a panel of so-called experts is discussing the dangers of microplastics. I say “so-called” because one of the panelists is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Yes, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—our Secretary of Health and Human Services. Yes, the...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Apr 12, 2026, 4:30 PM

Doctor Circumcisor – mohel, gozer, rofeh and umana

The Torah commands that when a Jewish boy is born, he should be circumcised on the eighth day (Lev. 12:3). The verb used in that passage to denote “circumcising” the child is yimol, and similar words for the act of...

Andy Blumenthal

Apr 12, 2026, 7:30 AM

Holy Math: Why the Number 8 Changes Everything

Rarely does the synagogue calendar align with such poetic precision. This past Shabbat, our congregation witnessed a Brit Milah (circumcision) during the morning service—a ceremony many of us realized we hadn’t seen performed on the Sabbath in years. The event...

Mar 25, 2026, 2:42 AM

The prophet at the door

'Elijah in the Desert,' by Washington Allston, in 1870. (public domain)

The biblical Elijah gave up on the Jews, but God knew better. He told him, sent him back, and made him witness to Jewish stamina and resolve forever (Passover)

Feb 8, 2026, 11:54 PM

The Bagel Guillotine

I studied Anita’s ring finger, wrapped in a blood-soaked brown paper towel. Then I glanced at her face, twisted into a grimace. “Do you want to go to urgent care?” I asked. “No thanks. It’ll coagulate and stop bleeding.” As she spoke,...

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Dec 19, 2025, 11:25 AM

Judaism (and Hanukkah) in Light of History

I attended a modern Orthodox Jewish Day School from 1st through 8th grade, and then a similar high school. The secular education was quite good, and the Jewish part – at least from the standpoint of “dos and don’ts”...

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