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Sep 4, 2026, 4:57 AM

To Renew Our Days (Nitzavim-Vayelech, Covenant & Conversation)

The moment had come. Moses was about to die. He had seen his sister Miriam and brother Aaron pre-decease him. He had prayed to God – not to live forever, not even to live longer, but simply, ‘Please let...

Yochanan Schimmelpfennig

Aug 28, 2026, 10:33 AM

Who Taught Them To Spit?

Before we ask whether it is permissible to spit on a priest, perhaps we should ask a simpler question: is it permissible to spit on a human being? If the answer is not an immediate no, then the problem...

Aug 27, 2026, 3:25 PM

At the Table, Not Under the Canopy

Signature: 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

The Bride, the Friends, and Those Left in the Outer Darkness There is a primary, undeniable romance running like a golden thread through the Hebrew Scriptures: Hashem is the Husband, and Israel is His Bride. Every covenantal mechanism, every boundary stone,...

Aug 27, 2026, 5:51 AM

The Legal Theory Orthodox Jews May Come to Regret

A developing application of federal forced-labor law raises a question Orthodox Jewish institutions should take seriously: When can the powerful influence of a religious leader or close-knit community be treated by the government as evidence of psychological coercion? The question...

Aug 24, 2026, 12:25 AM

For the Patrilineal Jews: You Are Jewish

The Davidson Archaeological Park in Jerusalem, October 2021 - Courtesy of the Author

I am not a “patrilineal Jew.” My mom is Jewish, and so is my dad. I am simply Jewish. But I believe the same principle of belonging should extend to Jews whose Jewish identity comes through their fathers. The term...

Shamai Leibowitz

Aug 21, 2026, 8:37 AM

The Stranger in Your Tent

What do returning lost property, a desert tent, and the Arabic greeting—adopted by many Hebrew speakers—Ahlan wa sahlan ("welcome") have in common? They all have a connection to the Semitic root: א-ה-ל (A-H-L). While Hebrew kept Ohel (אֹהֶל) as the physical tent, Arabic came to use ahl (أَهْل) to mean the family living inside it....

Aug 21, 2026, 5:32 AM

The Parameters of Justice (Ki Teitse, Covenant & Conversation)

In Deuteronomy 24, we encounter - for the first time - the explicit statement of a law of far-reaching significance: “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for parents. A...

Aug 18, 2026, 6:08 PM

Who Should Build the Railing?

Why prevention deserves as much of our attention as blame after tragedy. Turn on daytime television for any length of time and the commercials become familiar. Have you been injured in an accident? Were you harmed by a medical procedure?...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Aug 17, 2026, 7:07 PM

The role of the roof

In Parshat Ki Tetze (Dvarim 22:8) we learn about the importance of fencing in the roof of a building: “When you build a new home, you are to make a fence for your roof…” What were roofs like in Biblical...

Talyah Ginsberg

Aug 14, 2026, 2:30 PM

Justice, justice shall you pursue — preferably after coffee

Gavel and coffee. (iStock)

Elul's court means we must first give up our double-standards and only then demand leaders who do more than look thoughtful in photos (Shofetim)

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