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Ben-Tzion Spitz

Jul 17, 2026, 6:09 PM

Home Protection (Devarim)

“Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.” -Charles Dickens Most people have a visceral connection, not necessarily to the physical construct, but rather...

Claudia Kreiman

Jul 17, 2026, 2:33 PM

The Question My Mother’s Memory Asks of Me

Thirty-two years ago this week, on July 18, 1994, my mother was murdered in the terrorist bombing of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina), the central institution of Argentina's Jewish community in Buenos Aires. She worked there as a...

Jul 17, 2026, 5:55 AM

Tzedek: Justice and Compassion (Devarim, Covenant & Conversation)

As Moses begins his great closing addresses to the next generation, he turns to a subject that dominates the last of the Mosaic books, namely justice: I charged your judges at that time: ‘Hear the disputes among your people and...

Jul 17, 2026, 5:47 AM

The Tichel Trend and Redemptive Consciousness

As readers begin this article, they may think I am opening a can of worms. And indeed, while I love provocative and even polemical conversations, I want to bring up a topic loaded with a painful history and explore...

Jul 17, 2026, 5:44 AM

The Roles of Happiness and Mourning

In my post college years I wanted a life where I could be happy regardless of life's events. I've spent many years researching and thinking about happiness. Let me share something I've worked out. The Maharal, a 16th century Jewish...

Nachliel Selavan

Jul 16, 2026, 10:27 PM

Samson and the Giant from the Arbel

Blog post for Parashat Devarim 5786/2026 Caution: Giants! “What is the difference between your expectations and the reality of Israel?” my parents asked a group of Australian teenagers visiting Israel for the first time, seated in my parents’ living room in...

Jul 16, 2026, 12:39 PM

Leadership Means Letting Go

By John Trumbull - Yale University Art Gallery 1832.8, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14619530

In May 1782, as the American Revolution ebbed, Colonel Lewis Nicola sent General George Washington what has become known as the "Newburgh Letter." The colonies had won their independence, but the future of the new nation was far from...

Jul 16, 2026, 12:31 PM

Burdens Worth Bearing

The Torah describes itself as a “song.” This is rather telling about the complex structure of the Torah. A song communicates with its listener through multiple means. The words of the Torah are, in the words of the sages,...

Jul 16, 2026, 10:26 AM

Fins and Scales, Hooves and Cud

If every fish with scales also has fins, why does the Torah mention fins at all? Image: Black sea bass (Centropristis striatus). A kosher fish. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Kashrut Through the Lens of Information Theory: The Hidden Logic of Redundancy The Torah is often admired for its brevity. Yet in some places, it appears surprisingly redundant. Consider the two most familiar signs of kashrut. Regarding fish, the Torah states: These you may...

Stephen M. Flatow

Jul 14, 2026, 8:30 PM

Does protesting the draft count as Torah study, too?

Haredi men block Route 4 during a protest against the jailing of draft dodgers, near Bnei Brak, June 17, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Torah study is a foundational Jewish value, but it's not the only one. So is the responsibility for one another that the IDF exemplifies

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