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Jul 4, 2026, 5:10 PM

From 2008: A Journey to Cuba’s Jewish Community

Havana nights (photo courtesy of the author).

I wrote this in 2008 after I visited Cuba on a Jewish humanitarian trip. I never found a publisher for it, so I am finally posting it here now. Cuba is much in the news now in 2026 with...

Jul 2, 2026, 10:40 PM

Checking Into History in the US Capital

For years, Washington, DC had been quietly calling me back. Between my undergraduate and graduate studies, I hitchhiked across America, often relying on overnight Greyhound bus rides. That was the last time I visited the American capital. I was...

Jun 30, 2026, 11:20 AM

Lunar Shield Bearers: Halakhic Warfare in Rabbinic Journals

Rabbi Kasher’s Man on the Moon, first published in Noam, reprinted as separate booklet.

Buzz Aldrin photographed by Neil Armstrong, NASA photo ID AS11-40-5903, https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=AS11&roll=40&frame=5903, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS11-40-5903_-_Buzz_Aldrin_by_Neil_Armstrong_(full_frame).jpg

In the 1969-1970 issue of the journal Noam: A Forum for the Clarification of Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Rabbi Benzion Firer (1914-1988) published a responsum addressing the question of whether Jewish law was applicable on the Moon. Firer reached a...

Russell F. Robinson

Jun 29, 2026, 6:07 AM

The Golden Age of Israel Engagement Isn’t Ending — It’s Growing

Muss students in Israel (Credit JNF-USA)

A recent Times of Israel article questioned whether rising challenges signal the end of the golden age of American Jewish travel to Israel. But on the ground—and in the hearts of our community, we see something very different. At Jewish National...

Jun 22, 2026, 12:14 PM

Angels and Astronauts: The Extraterrestrial Extinction of Jewish Law

Following the lunar landing on 20 July 1969, Rabbi Benzion Firer (1914-1988) addressed the following question: “In the last days, after man has succeeded in setting foot on the Moon, no longer do people laugh at the possibility of creating...

Jun 21, 2026, 8:59 PM

From Getaway to Gateway: When Jewish Travel Becomes a Journey

There is a moment on every journey when ordinary life begins to loosen its grip. Packing, getting to the airport, checking in, and navigating security lines can be hectic and stressful even in the best of circumstances. For me, there...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Jun 18, 2026, 10:18 PM

The Kings Highway

In the United States, when one hears the words “Kings Highway,” they think of Brooklyn, NY or the Colonial American Road built by King Charles II between Charleston and Boston. But the original Kings Highway goes back to Biblical...

Jun 16, 2026, 6:45 PM

Dybbooks: When Possessions Possess Dusty Dreams

Like a modern lyrical Cassandra, the songstress Marina Diamandis sings: "If you are not very careful Your possessions will possess you TV taught me how to feel Now real life has no appeal (Lyrics from Marina and The Diamonds – Oh No!) And as I...

Jun 10, 2026, 4:12 AM

Nobu – An Empire Beyond Sushi

With Drew Nieporent in Nobu downtown Manhattan (photo: Liat Valter)

A visit to New York also means gastronomy. For me, among the city’s endless attractions, it became a walk down memory lane to meet Drew Nieporent - one of New York’s most influential restaurateurs and a pioneer of modern hospitality. Nieporent, who...

Jun 9, 2026, 10:04 AM

A Giant Leap: Lunar Landing and Legal Impossibility

Hatzofe, Friday 25 July 1969 (Historical Jewish Press, https://www.nli.org.il/he/discover/newspapers/jpress)

On 20 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module successfully landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong, followed by Buzz Aldrin, became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface. As Armstrong stepped out of the spacecraft, he famously...

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