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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)

Aug 13, 2026, 8:23 PM

Are you fulfilling all you need to in this world?

Do you make the same Cheshbon Hanefesh (accounting of the soul) as everyone else? No. You are unique! Your Cheshbon HaNefesh will vary according to your level of intelligence, perception and clarity of understanding. Look at yourself. Are you fulfilling your obligations to serve...

Aug 10, 2026, 8:13 AM

When Niceness Is Not Enough

Jews like to joke that wherever there are two Jews, there are three opinions. We tell the joke proudly. Disagreement, we believe, is one of our great strengths. But I am beginning to wonder whether we are better at celebrating...

Aug 5, 2026, 6:28 AM

Does a Heavenly Temple Replace the Earthly Avodah?

The claim moves quietly through communities that love the Hebrew Scriptures. The earthly Temple, they hear, was only a shadow. The real altar stands in Heaven. The real high priest serves there. The real and final cleansing happens above....

Aug 2, 2026, 9:43 AM

Babel in the Nine Days

The Sanhedrin's written ruling is dated 6 Menachem Av. Hold that date for a moment before anything else. Three days before Tisha B'Av. Inside the nine days when we do not build, do not celebrate, do not so much as...

Andy Blumenthal

Aug 2, 2026, 4:57 AM

Don’t Wait Until Death to Learn How to Live

Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a novel about Eddie, an aging amusement-park maintenance worker who dies trying to save a child and then meets five people in heaven. Each encounter helps him understand a...

Andy Blumenthal

Jul 12, 2026, 5:25 AM

There Is Still Time Today to Make Yesterday Jealous

It was an ordinary ride that delivered an extraordinary idea. Earlier this week, in Washington, D.C., I stepped into an Uber driven by a retired gentleman with a calm demeanor. Soft religious music played in the background. He greeted me...

Jul 7, 2026, 12:32 AM

Jews working against Jewish interests: The theme of the Three Weeks period

The current Three Weeks period of semi-mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temples in the 1st-Century C.E. Promised Land commemorate ancient history. But their message is as contemporary as today’s headlines. First, some background: According to the Talmud (Tractate Gittin...

Gedalya Sloshay

Jul 1, 2026, 3:20 PM

Teshuvah Is Changing What We Love

Every so often, I come across a Torah commentary that stops me in my tracks. This week, it was the Ohr HaChaim on Parshas Pinchas. At first, his words seemed to contradict one of the most fundamental principles of...

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...

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