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An Orthodox Gender Dysphoric Third Grader
R' Yaakov Ariel (Wikipedia)There are very few issues that are more difficult for me to discuss than transgenderism. That is because of the conflict between the letter of Torah law and the sympathy I...
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A Win for Religious Liberty
Liberal Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor (Reuters)It is a bit confusing. But if I understand correctly Yeshiva University’s request of the Supreme Court to vacate the order by a lower court to...
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An Expert Weighs In. But...
Chasidic Children (Commentary)The defense of the Chasidic community goes on unabated. Article upon article has been authored by prominent representatives of Orthodoxy ranging from the Centrist OU to...
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Insanity as the New Normal
Toe Shaitels (JTA)I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I kinda feel both emotions. There is an ad floating around the Jewish media selling fake toes. You heard that correctly. Why on earth would...
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The British Monarchy and the Jewish People
Queen Elizabeth II (BBC)Some random thoughts about the British monarchy in light of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Which was a sight to behold. The grandeur of the British monarchy was on full display.The...
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Hate Thy Neighbor?
Nissim Black - a Righteous Convert (Wikipedia)Jeff Rubin’s observations about the sin of making people feel bad struck a chord with me. Perhaps it’s because of the personal attacks I see against people...
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Best Article Yet on Chasidic Education
R' Aharon Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbe of Kiyas Joel (Jerusalem Post)Finally. An editorial I can identify with. publihsed in First Things, Cole S. Aronson hits the nail on the head on the issue of...
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Of Torah Study for Women and Motherhood
Nehama Leibowitz - a role model for women in Torah study(Wikipedia)I received an email from Rabbi Nanthaniel (Nati) Helfgot about an article he wrote in Jewish Link entitled Roles and Role Models. He...
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The Year in Review
As we about to enter the year 5783 I want to reflect a bit on the year we are leaving. This is the third year in a row we are under the cloud of COVID. That’s the bad news. The good news is that even...
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Progressives, Israel, and The US Constitution
House member and progressive, Rashida Tlaib (Progressive Caucus members)Is Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib right? Does supporting Israel mean that you can’t really be progressive? Tlaib...
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Understanding and Acceptance Versus Normalization
Back in 1973 the American Psychological Association removed Homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. That caused a sea change in how people with same sex attractions were treated. Not only by...
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Undue Hardship
6 of 9 SCOTUS Justices are politicly conservative (Harvard Gazette)Outside of Israel, no where in the world is it easier to be an observant Jew than in the United States of the 21st century. Freedom...
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Thriving or Abject Failure. It's Complicated
Satmar school bus (Brownstoner)One of the things that have made me so supportive of requiring Chasidic schools in communities like Satmar to offer a core secular curriculum is that without one, it...
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Flying High
Neighborhood in Ramat Bet Shemesh - Aleph (Yigal Realty)Today is a travel day. I'm off to Israel. My wife and I will - God willing - once again be privileged to experience Yom Kippur and celebrate...
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Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (Chabad)Today on Erev Yom Kippur I want to take the opportunity to wish all of my readers, commentators, and contributors a G'mar Chasima Tova and and easy fast.
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Is Chesed the Exclusive Domain of the Jewish People?
Eytan Kobre (Mishpacha)Mi K’Amcha Yisroel - Who is like your people- Israel? This comment is often mentioned by writers describing a story about an Orthodox Jew doing an act of kindness. Especially if...
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Is There Such a Thing as a Gay Chasid?
There has been lot of pushback by the Charedim (mostly Chasidim) of the UK against the government requirement to teach sex education and about the LGBTQ community. Apparently they have turned to an...
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Is Sukkos the Happiest Time of the Year?
Sukkah illustration from TabletSukkos is called Z’man Simchasenu - our time for rejoicing. The question arises, why is this particular Yom tov referred to that way? Is there no Simcha to be had on the...
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Is Shmuel Roth the Next Gadol HaDor?
Shmuel Roth celebrating the completion of Shas at his Bar Mitzvah (VIN)Some random thoughts about a fascinating piece in VIN. It appears that Benjamin Netanyahu’s grandson, Shmuel Roth is quite the...
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The Fight for the Right to Remain Illiterate Continues
Chasidic classroom (Mosaic)Not that I didn’t expect something like this. But a lawsuit has been filed by Agudah, Torah U’Mesorah (and some Yeshivos) against Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young...
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