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Yitzchak Besser

Sep 11, 2026, 6:00 PM

Judaism is Not a Suicide Pact

Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel recently gave a talk at the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus Summer Simcha 2026, where she discussed the difficulties of being a Jew in today’s Democratic Party. “As Democrats,” she said, “we now face a stark...

Chava (Patricia) Kadoche

Sep 11, 2026, 5:45 PM

The Soul and the Shield

When I turned away from politics and back to Tanach, I discovered that our greatest teachers may have been pointing us toward partnership all along. בֵּאלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה־חָיִל וְהוּא יָבוּס צָרֵינוּ “Through God we shall act valiantly, and He will trample our...

Sep 10, 2026, 10:13 PM

Michigan AG Says Jews Must Forego Self-Interest

After about seven decades at the typewriter/keyboard scribbling about politics, you think you have heard it all. As they say, nothin’ new under the sun. Until now… The Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel made some remarks recently that I am...

Sep 10, 2026, 3:45 PM

The Best Books of 5786

The term People of the Book, which sounds much better in Hebrew, Am HaSefer, is indeed apt. Walk into any Jewish bookstore or browse on Amazon, and new titles arrive daily. 5786 is coming to a close, and the year, like...

Sep 10, 2026, 4:45 AM

Mandylicious Honey Challah for Your High Holiday Entertaining

"Mandylicious Honey Challah" for your High Holiday Entertaining. Photo courtesy of Mandy Silverman.

Mandy Silverman’s new book on challah making may be called Twisted, but her support for Hadassah is straight up. Silverman, known to her Instagram fans as Mandyliciouschallah, is celebrated for her inventive takes on challah and other braided breads. Her...

Henny Kupferstein

Sep 9, 2026, 9:05 PM

The Book of Life: Where do the Shunned Belong?

Henny Kupferstein, wearing a sheitel over her shaved head, holds her children during kapparot, as a chicken is waved over their heads in the symbolic atonement ritual practiced by many Chassidim before Yom Kippur.

I am an Ex-Chassid, and as such, a survivor of a forced arranged religious marriage. This is still the custom of my family, who are Holocaust survivors living in New York City. The “ex” part doesn’t mean I voluntarily...

Sep 9, 2026, 2:54 PM

Backsliding into tribalism: A response to Mijal Bitton

Yeshayahu Leibowitz, an Israeli philosopher and scientist known for his outspoken, often controversial opinions on Judaism, ethics, religion and politics. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Liberal Jews believe the Jewish people has a purpose greater than survival. So did Yeshayahu Leibowitz

Silas Anastacio

Sep 8, 2026, 3:56 AM

Zicaron Bassalon unites Holocaust Memorial, Jewish Agency and Hannah Charlier

São Paulo – Living Memory at Zicaron Bassalon In the warmth of a São Paulo home, surrounded by friends and family, the Holocaust Memorial and the Jewish Agency hosted a Zicaron Bassalon gathering at the residence of Sarita Mucinic Sarue....

Sep 6, 2026, 9:37 AM

The Judenplatz: Vienna Waits for You

There is a Vienna seen and celebrated, where tourists line up for a sense of majesty and the nostalgia of empire. They pass through the splendid halls of Schönbrunn Palace, beneath the chandeliers of the Opera House, and through...

Eliyahu V. Sapir

Sep 5, 2026, 5:42 PM

The face and the voice

TL;DR: Europe knows what to do with a Jewish face in a photograph: name it, mourn it, preserve it, learn from it. A Jewish voice is harder. It can disagree with the lesson, demand protection in the present, and...

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