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Nov 6, 2026, 6:04 PM

Isaac and Prayer (Chayei Sarah, Covenant & Conversation)

One scene in this week’s sedra has left a mark on Jewish law. Abraham has sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. He finds Rebecca, and brings her back with him. The first glimpse she has of...

Mitchell Slepian

Nov 4, 2026, 11:23 PM

It’s More Than What’s in the Prayer Book

For those of us who go to services, many things make them worthwhile. I have been to Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Chasidic services. I served as a gabai for many years in an Orthodox shul. Side note: someone once...

Andy Blumenthal

Oct 18, 2026, 2:35 AM

If You Have Your Health, You Have Everything

After my third surgery this year, familiar words—and familiar prayers—became personal. My parents used to say, “If you have your health, you have everything.” I believed them. But believing those words and understanding them are not quite the same. After my third surgery this year, I understand them...

Oct 6, 2026, 6:57 PM

What Is Zionism For?

Mashiach ben Yosef, Mashiach ben David, and the Unfinished Work of Religious Zionism My friend Adam Louis-Klein and I have been studying the book Kol HaNevuah—The Voice of Prophecy—together. It is the great philosophical work of Rabbi David Cohen, the Nazir,...

Oct 5, 2026, 4:06 AM

When Does the Rabbi Get to Pray?

The spiritual paradox of producing other people’s religious experience. This year, at the conclusion of Simchat Torah, I expected to feel something. We had reached the end of a long season that began with preparation for Rosh Hashanah, moved through...

Shira Pasternak Be'eri

Oct 2, 2026, 10:25 AM

Simchat Torah: Where there’s change, I find hope

Image by the author and her AI friends

Dancing with the Torah was once a hard sell for many Orthodox women, but it's the default for the next generation in my shul – a quiet revolution on the women's side

Oct 1, 2026, 8:29 PM

HaShem sent you into this world for a reason. To grow!

Your Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) lets you: Pray 3 times a day Learn Mussar (Torah instruction) Learn Gemorah (Talmud) Do Mitzvos The one thing your Yetzer Hara does not want you doing is thinking about HaShem. When you start thinking about HaShem, you start to serve HaShem. The Yetzer Hara...

Eliezer Avraham

Oct 1, 2026, 6:08 AM

Bravery Without Borders: Honoring Modern Guardians of Jewish Life

AI Illustrated Image

A proposal for Israel to establish a Presidential Citation for Civil Courage and a modern Righteous Guardians of Life classification for non‑Jews who save Jewish lives in moments of war or terror. The Moral Imperative to Recognize Courage Beyond Borders Israel...

Sep 28, 2026, 9:37 PM

This Is Judaism: Isaiah for This Moment – Yom Kippur 5787

My father used to tell me a story. I think it was about his first congregation in Riverhead, Long Island, though I’m not completely sure anymore. Towards the beginning of his tenure there, he gave a sermon about the Vietnam...

Sep 27, 2026, 9:33 AM

Two little-known bookend prayers I really need now

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While I'm staving off the anger, apathy, and impulsiveness of my incurable disease, I turn to God twice each day and ask for help that I believe would help anyone

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