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Extremism in Defense of Tznius
Not that beautiful? Halle Berry with a short haircutPeople often ask me what I consider extreme Charedism. The answer is not really that simple. I’m tempted to use Supreme Court Justice Potter...
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Facing the Truths of History
Rabbi Avi ShafranOne of the biggest issues (perhapsthe biggest issue) that divides the Charedi world from the rest of the Orthodox world is how we view our rabbinic leaders …or even the great Gedolim...
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A Day of Remembrance and Gratitude
Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton watch a demonstration of Nazi torture Today is Memorial Day. If anyone should recognize the sacrifices of the American military, it is the Jewish people. It was...
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Retroactive Prophecy Redux
Guest Post by Rabbi Avi Shafran*Rabbi Avi ShafranIn an article entitled Retroactive Prophesy, Rabbi Avi Shafran strongly criticized an essay by Rabbi Berel Wein. I responded to that with a post of my...
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What Was Rabbi Wein’s Real Message?
A Response to Rabbi Avi ShafranRefugee Ship 'Theodor Herzl' trying to run a British Blockade in Haifa (1947)Earlier today, I published a response by Rabbi Shafran to critiques of an earlier essay of...
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Paying a Price
Disgusting Price Tag Graffiti on the Romanian Church in Jeruslaem (TOI)One of the many things I promote on this blog is Achdus. This is one of the primary things missing in the Jewish world. We have...
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Yom Yerushalyim - It Still Stirs the Emotions
Rabbi Shlomo Goren at the Kotel - 1967I will never forget it. It was June of 1967, the ‘Summer of Love’ so nicknamed by the young people of my generation as many of them traveled to San Fransisco to do...
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Crossing a Line
Dr. Yarom HazonyIs Open Orthodoxy really heretical? As painful as it is for me to say so, I’m afraid that Rabbi Yaakov Perlow’s remarks at yesterday’s Agudah convention along those lines may be...
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Satmar and Yeshiva University
Elimelech Wagschal gets a kiss from his mother at his graduation If only this would start a new trend. One of the issues I have with Satmar type Chasidus is their attitude about the secular world. Of...
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The Big Dog in the Neighborhood
Rabbi Moshe David Niederman, CEO of UJO in WilliamsburgLest anyone say that Satmar does not have a sense of humor, I present to you Rabbi Moshe David Niederman. He's a pretty funny guy. Rabbi Niederman...
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Rabbi Perlow’s Overlooked Comment
Rabbi Yaakov PerlowLast night (…or technically this morning at 12:15 AM CDT) I was a guest on Zev Brenner’s radio program Talkline. I was joined by Mark Meyer Appel, founder and president of The Voice...
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Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Kollelim?
Typical Community Kollel Beis HaMedrashWe are approaching the end of the school year. This is about the time tuition and scholarship committees begin looking at scholarship applications. I’m sure that...
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Kabbolas HaTorah in the Modern Era
Tonight we celebrate receiving the Torah at Sinai. How ironic it is that just a few days ago an explosion of commentary began about the veracity of just that. Did this event that Jews have celebrated...
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The Wrong Stuff - Focusing on Minutia
The long wig... Too hot to handle?The longer I live the further to the right Orthodoxy seems to be going. It seems to never end. One might ask, what is wrong with becoming even more religious? After...
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The Poverty of Chasidim
Children of Kiryas Joel - 92% of the population is on Medicaid (NYT)A few days ago I wrote about the anomaly of a young Satmar Chasid opting for an education at Yeshiva University. I considered that a...
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The ‘Black Sheep’ Hero
Rabbi Yakov HorowitzLast year Nechemya Weberman was convicted of sex abuse and sentenced to a 103 year prison term.The Satmar community of which Weberman was a part never believed his accuser and to...
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Of Hate and Introspection
Forward Editor-in Chief, Jane EisnerI must give credit to Forward editor, Jane Eisner. In her critical editorial about Rabbi Yaakov Perlow’s address at the recent Agudah convention, she had a moment of...
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The Spiritual Selfie
Rav Yitzchok Hutner (right) with Rav Moshe FeinsteinIs a model built on a multitude of people dependent on a few rich benefactors and secular government handouts a responsible communal construct? Is...
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No Such Thing as Peace at Any Price
Peace with Fundamentalist Islam is an oxymoronNo one wants peace in Israel more than I do. I am a firm believer that life trumps land. That’s why I had always supported almost any deal Israel would...
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An Apology to Matzav
Upon further reflection, I have decided to delete the previous post which was critical of Matzav. I had erred in my perception of what they did. They did not necessarily deceive anyone by posting a...
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