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Returning YU’s Leadership to its Former Glory
YU's choice for its new president, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman (Arutz 7)I have never been a student at Yeshiva University (YU). But as an adherent of a Torah U’Mada my Hashkafos resemble those of YU. Which...
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Should a Wedding be Called Off Because of a Smartphone?
Rav Chaim Kanievsky (Arutz Sheva)At an Agudah convention a few years ago, one of the themes was about the dangers of owning and using a smartphone. Accessing porn or anything else that is illicit is a...
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You Can’t Make a Cheeseburger Kosher
If it were up to me, I would make cheeseburgers Kosher. If it were up to me I would change a lot of Halachos. I might even get rid of all of them and become a humanist. Or maybe a hedonist. Or both.But...
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Antisemitism or a Chilul HaShem?
Image from Shan and Toad - a high-end children’s clothing retailer (JTA)“When you talk about Jews, especially Orthodox Jews… you’re talking about money.” “The money of ill gotten gains.” “Jews are a...
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When Prejudice Trumps Rabbinic Authority
Image for illustration purposes taken from YWNPrejudice. An ugly word, in my view. Prejudging anything is unfair and unjust. Especially when it comes to people. Nonetheless we are all victims of it....
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East Ramapo – Revisited
Guest Contribution by RYSSome members of the East Ramapo School Board as constructed last yearJust over a year ago, in June of 2015, I had written post about the optics of an Orthodox Jewish majority...
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Who Will Be More Effective Against Terror?
Captured!The recent spate of exploding bombs in New York and New Jersey (and a series of stabbings by an Islamist radical in Minnesota - making sure that his victims were not Muslims) once again raises...
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Objectifying Women and Women as Rabbis
Shabbos without mothers or daughters (TOI)Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll is a friend. I met her on my last trip to Israel. She is an intelligent woman whose sense of fairness and justice I admire. I often...
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The Right Choice
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman superimposed on an image of YU (Forward)“Two years ago, the school lost $83 million. Last year it lost another $84 million. And six months ago Moody’s reported that it expects the...
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The Chabad Outreach Model
Havdalah ceremony at a Crown Heights campus outreach event (RNS)What should the goal of Orthodox outreach be to non Orthodox Jews? At first blush one might be tempted to say to convince them to become...
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The Chief Rabbinate's Folly
Rav Gedaia Dov SchwartzIsrael needs a Chief Rabbinate. If we are going to have a Jewish country, it has to be Jewish in more than name only - or even as a culture. It has to based on the very thing...
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A Condemnable Act
Thousands of Jews protesting Israel at the UN last week (Matzav)There is a story about the Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoel Teitelbaum that goes something like this:When in 1968 Vice President Hubert Humphrey...
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A House Divided
Israeli Chief Rabbis Yaakov Yosef and David LauA few days ago I strongly criticized the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s treatment of converts to Judaism. Converts whose legitimacy was certified by no less a...
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Shimon Peres of Blessed Memory
Shimon Peres and Barack Obama at a 2014 meeting in DC (JTA/Getty Images)I will miss him. It is a sad day for the Jewish people. With the passing of Shimon Peres, we find ourselves bereft of all the...
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A Holy People or a Bunch of Criminals?
Is this our new image?I am not a member of Agudah. Nor do I always side with the views and pronouncements of their rabbinic leadership. I am in fact occasionally disappointed at some of what they say...
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A Legitimate Charity's Deceptive Practices
Written message is unclear. Does the Hebrew match the English translation?In just a few days, the new year will be upon us. As most religious Jews know, this is a time of reflection and prayer. The...
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New Year’s Resolutions
As we are about to begin the new year, I wish to offer my best wishes for a sweet year of good health, prosperity, and happiness for all.One of the customs at the beginning of the secular new year on...
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Status Quo? Or a Quiet Revolution?
Israeli Health Minister Rabbi Yaakov Litzman (AP/TOI)I have always said the Charedi model of full time Torah study for all men is an unsustainable one. And yet this ideal has been instilled in all...
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Persecution as the Means to an Observant Lifestyle
Is this what it takes to remain observant in college campuses? One of the things I love about Jonathan Rosenblum is the pride he takes in his secular education. For those who may not know, Jonathan...
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A Victory for Womankind?
(Image of a Shofar from My Jewish Learning)Listening to the Shofar is the only Torah level requirement on the day of Rosh Hashana. The Kolos (types of sounds) that should be heard consist of various...
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