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Orthodox Jews Are Not All Charedi
Netflix poster for 'Unorthodox' (RNS)We’re a hit! By ‘we’ I mean Orthodox Jews. That may sound strange at a time where there has been such an increase in antisemitism.. But that does not make the fact...
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Shunning the Unvaccinated
R' Kanievsky meeting yestrerday with Coronavirus czar Salman Zarka (TOI)Just when we thought we might have this thing licked, COVID has come back with a vengeance. Even in Israel where 80% of the...
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School Elitism Must End!
Moreshes - a religious school that opened in 2013 in response to the problemIt’s that time of year. School is about to begin - or has already begun. Which brings with it an intractable annual problem...
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The Tragedy of the Afghanistan Debacle
Kubul's carnage (NYT)It’s hard to take my mind off of the carnage that happened yesterday in Afghanistan. 92 people were killed in Kabul’s airport by an ISIS-K (An offshoot of ISIS) suicide bomber. 13...
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American Jewish Support for Israel
Bennett and Biden (Reuters)“I found a leader who loves Israel, knows exactly what he wants, and is attentive to our needs,”So said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett after his meeting with President Biden...
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Looking Down at Each Other
Charedi Gadol, R' Chaim KanievskyOne of the more troubling issues for me these days is how Charedim and modern Orthodox Jews look at each other. Which is (to say the least) not in very flattering ways....
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A Huge Change for the Better
Recent photo of R' Chaim Kanievsky (Jerusalem Post)There is a plague among us. No… I’m not talking about COVID. Although that plague is surely still with us. I am talking about sexual abuse. It seems...
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But Then Again - There's This...
Rabbi Ephraim Padwa (Independent)It’s getting harder and harder to respect certain segments of Orthodox Jewry. Even though I am a firm believer in Elu V’Elu – sometimes there are lines crossed that bar...
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My Biking Accident
Photo for illustration purposes onlyYesterday at about 1:30 pm I had a biking accident. While making a sharp right turn at a high speed on one of Chicago's beautiful biking trails my pedal grazed the...
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Having a Wedding and Hiding COVID
Chasidic wedding - for illustration purposes only (WSJ)Still in a lot of pain. Finding it hard focus. That said I would be remiss if I did not express my sincere sympathies for what those of you that...
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Why I am Pro-Choice and Pro-Life
The 5 Supreme Court Justices that upheld the Texas abortion law (Slate)Last May, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law one of nation’s strictest abortion measures, banning the procedure as early...
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5781 - Another Bad COVID Year
Last year on the eve of Rosh Hashana, it seemed inconceivable to me that we would still be in the middle of a COVID pandemic by the end of the year. God riddance to 5780, I thought. Last year a lot of...
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The Women of Telz, and the Women of the Wall
Women of Telz (Mishpacha online)All of the women in the ghetto gathered in the synagogue to pray and pour out their sorrow and pain before G-d in heaven. A young woman, age 20, led the prayers. She...
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
A police raid on a illegal Rosh Hashana Minyan (YWN)There has been a lot of talk about the antisemitism expressed by government officials during the pandemic. It usually came in the form of something...
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My Thoughts about 9/11 - Then and Now
It’s been 20 years. Yesterday, September 11, 2021 was the 20thanniversary of an attack against the United States by the Islamic terrorist group known as Al Qaida. To say that it was horrific is a gross...
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Why I Am a Jew
Believing Jews One of the great conundrums of life for me is, Why Judaism? What is it about my Emunah - my faith that makes me so committed to it? It might surprise people to know that like others who...
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Na Na Na - Hey Hey - Goodbye (to These Breslovers)
COVID testing facility in Uman (Jewish Press)Not to be outdone by a group of Chasidim in Melbourne - who secretly defied Australia’s mandated shutdown during on Rosh Hashanah (and were caught), a group...
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Who by Fire - Revisited
Leonard Cohen in 1988 (Wikipedia)The late singer-composer, Leonard Cohen was by all accounts not an observant Jew. But I believe that at some level he had a deep and abiding faith in God. I say that...
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Can a Human Being Actually Change Their Sex?
One of the most poignant lectures on transgenderism I ever heard was given by Boca Raton Synagogue's Rabbi Efrem Goldberg. The sensitivity he showed and urged us all to have for people with this...
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Thinking Out of the Box - Middle East Peace
Mahmoud Abbas The real obstacle to peace? (Wiki)There is little doubt about the problems facing Israel with respect to Palestinians on the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). It is not rocket science....
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