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Jul 22, 2018, 3:45 PM

Iran is not here!

Take it from one who performs Orthodox weddings outside the Chief Rabbinate: The Haiyun case is no big deal

Mikie Goldstein

Jul 20, 2018, 12:21 AM

The day the Jewish state became Orthodox

The legs of a bride and groom are seen as they break two glasses concluding their Reform Jewish wedding ceremony held in front of the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, on March 18, 2013, in protest of the Orthodox Rabbinate's monopoly on marriage licensing and the lack of civil marriages in Israel. (Flash 90)

It only took a few hours: first, the nation-state bill was signed; then, a Conservative rabbi was detained by police

Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Jul 19, 2018, 10:59 PM

Tish’a B’Av – The Ninth of Av: Who Needs the Temple?

One of the most puzzling elements of Jewish Tradition is the institution of the Temple and its sacrificial rites. Although the Temple serves many purposes, sacrifices lie at the very heart of its mission. There are profound differences of...

Jul 18, 2018, 10:48 PM

B’Inyan Kefiyyeh b’Gittin shel Nichpeh: Coercion in Gittin of an Epileptic

The Gemara speaks of several categories of mumim -- defects -- among them the nichpeh, or epileptic. Bechoros 44b explains that one of the pesulim which invalidate a kohen for the avodah is epilepsy, even infrequently (nichpeh afilu achat...

Jul 18, 2018, 2:15 AM

Lifnei Iver, Kosher Meat, and the Nine Days

The nine days period is characterized by numerous prohibitions, including abstention from meat and wine. The Mishna (Taanit 26b) and Gemara (Taanit 30a) record an issur d’rabbanan to eat meat during the Seudah Hamafseket, the last meal before the...

Jul 16, 2018, 2:30 PM

Is it time to do away with Tisha B’Av?

The Israeli flag flutters in front of the Old City of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock on December 1, 2017. (AFP Photo/Thomas)

Israel has evolved into an economic and military superpower; what must we mourn?

Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden

Jul 15, 2018, 11:30 PM

Happy Tisha beAv!

We are in the days leading up to the most somber in the Jewish calendar. A wise young person in my synagogue told me: Now we are in the bad days. I told him: No, there are no bad days....

Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden

Jul 13, 2018, 12:57 PM

Again, leading Jerusalem Haredi rabbi promotes Pride March

Rabbi Israel Ariel, leading specialist on the Temple, is one of the most respected rabbis alive today. To attack him or his words practically means to ask for being disrespected. But I'm not going to attack him. G^d forbid! The...

Leonard Grunstein

Jul 13, 2018, 6:57 AM

Gaza Is Not Occupied by Anyone Other than Gazans — The War of Words

Gaza is occupied by Gazans. Neither Egypt nor Israel, its territorial neighbors, occupy Gaza, as a matter of fact or law. Yet, the provocative terms “occupation” and “occupier” are casually used, by many in the news media and others, to...

Shammai Engelmayer

Jul 12, 2018, 10:39 PM

‘True justice’ lacking in top court pick(s)

Justices of the US Supreme Court are supposed to be chosen based on their judicial knowledge and temperament, not on their political beliefs. They must be willing to rule in opposition to their own political beliefs when the arguments...

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