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Jun 8, 2026, 12:21 PM

My Smallest Book Feels Like My Most Important

I have written four books, with a fifth now underway. Yet strangely, the piece of work that has affected me most is not one of the larger projects. It is a small booklet: my Guide to Psalms (Tehillim). And I think...

Rebecca Liebermann Nissel

Jun 4, 2026, 9:52 AM

Silk Kaftans and Blue Jeans

Our grandson was off from his base and for us it was a jubilation to embrace him after such a long time. On our last trip to Israel, they did not let him leave, as his position was not...

May 29, 2026, 6:44 PM

The Priestly Blessing and Forever Young

This week was the 25th (!) anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah. I always know exactly how many years it has been since my Bar Mitzvah, because I celebrated becoming a Bar Mitzvah on the same weekend that Bob Dylan...

May 28, 2026, 4:00 AM

Reality Is Not What It Seems: A Scientific and Chassidic Exploration

At first glance, certain Chassidic stories can seem puzzling, even unsettling. They appear to defy the orderly structure of Halachah, time, and physical reality we are accustomed to. Yet when examined more deeply—especially in light of Chassidic teachings and...

May 26, 2026, 5:48 PM

Yearning for the Shelah’s Prayer: A Rooftop Gathering of Hope

Yoatzot Halacha Fertility Counselors in prayer opposite Har Habayit

As Yoatzot Halacha Fertility Counselors, there are often moments on Erev Shabbat, after lighting candles and davening for our own families, when our thoughts turn to the women and couples we accompanied during that week. Perhaps it is the woman...

May 26, 2026, 5:08 AM

Who “Owns” the Torah?

A few days ago, we celebrated the giving of the Torah, our most sacred text, at Mount Sinai. Paradoxically, this legal, ethical, and spiritual covenant is what makes us free, since without law there is no freedom. Law provides a...

May 23, 2026, 9:21 AM

Holiness Is in the Living: Or, Doing & Praying Can Be Transcendent

Shocking to acknowledge: I cannot change the world. As much as I would like to stop Jew hatred with love and a few Tikkun Olam projects; stop the insanity of antisemitic herd mentality from festering; stop the calls for...

May 18, 2026, 6:18 PM

Devotion 30 — Sh’ma as a Way of Life

The Journey Continues Scripture “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”— Deuteronomy 6:4 “These words that I command you today shall be upon your heart.”— Deuteronomy 6:6 The Sh’ma begins with listening. But it does not end there. From the...

May 17, 2026, 4:48 PM

Devotion 29 — Sh’ma and the Future

Listening for the World to Come Scripture “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”— Deuteronomy 6:4 “They shall not hurt or destroy on all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of...

Andy Blumenthal

May 17, 2026, 8:16 AM

Why I Came Back to Shul

For years, one of the absolute best perks of returning regularly to synagogue has been rediscovering a very specific, distinctly Jewish superpower: our humor. It’s warm, deeply self-aware, and forged through millennia of practicing the art of the collective...

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