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Bubbie Tzirel
by Rivkie Greenland, Guest ContributorBubbie Tzirel and my daughter Rivkie at her wedding (1998)There is one thing about my generation that is unlike any other in recent times. Most of those of us...
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Frumkeit and 2nd Class Citizenry
Image from Shona's SiteI am a feminist. That’s right. You read that correctly. And yet, I have been accused of being misogynistic and have been the recipient of some truly harsh criticism by some of...
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Pouring Kerosene onto the Fire
Rabbi Y'soscher Katz (TOI)I actually like Rabbi Y’soscher Katz. Even though I am in profound disagreement with his Hashkafos, I believe he is sincere in his views and has in the past argued very...
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Women and the Kipa
Image from My Jewish LearningOne of the things I have always wondered about was why female rabbis in the Conservative movement wear a Kipa. I don’t recall the exact answer I was given by a female...
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Two Worlds with Major Problems
Image from the ForwardBetween what is going on in the world of Lakewood and the world of heterodoxy, I almost feel like throwing in the towel. It seems like a hopeless situation at both ends.A recent...
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Moving Backwards
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, David LauAs if the Israeli Chief Rabbinate needed yet another blow to its credibility, yesterday the Jerusalem Post published what it said was a list of 160 Diaspora...
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Secular Jews and the Kotel
Typical scene of mostly Orthodox Jews at the Kotel on Chol HaMoed How much does the average non observant Jew really care about getting an egalitarian space at the Kotel? One has to wonder whether the...
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The Damage Caused by Silence
Breaking new ground? Picture of a woman in Mishpacha Magazine‘Of course it’s Mutar.’ ‘Just don’t quote me.’ This is unfortunately the leadership style of some (if not all) of the Charedi rabbinc...
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Seeing the Other Side
Image from BishvilaychOne of the most troubling things I have noticed over the years is the inability of people with one set of ideals to hear what people with another set of ideals are saying. It...
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The Demise of Jewish Denominations
Temple Shalom in ChicagoTruer words have not been said: “I’m A Reform Rabbi, And I’m Not Going Anywhere.” So said Rabbi Howard Goldsmith. Well, that’s almost right. I would just apply it to his...
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Recognizing Truth - No Matter the Source
A Reform egalitarian prayer service at Robinson’s ArchRabbi Nachum Eisenstein is one Orthodox rabbi that I believe has caused more damage to Orthodox Judaism than just about any other Orthodox rabbi....
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Anti Zionism is Anti Semitism
French President Macron and Israeli Prime Minister NetanyahuThere are those that will argue that being anti Zionist does not mean one is antisemitic. On the surface this seems like a fair statement....
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Orthodoxy Needs a Legitimate Left Wing
Image from The AtlanticA short while back, a friend of mine who is a passionate supporter of the egalitarian space at the Kotel admitted to me that when he visited the Kotel he chose to experience the...
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The Illogical and the Irresponsible
Irresponsible! (Ha'aretz)If there is any logic to the Arab/Mulsim world complaints about what Israel did on the Temple Mount, it escapes me.To say they are complaining is to put it mildly. You would...
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The Big Lie
Illustration from Reuters via the Jerusalem Post I’m not sure whether it’s deception or just plain old fashioned stupidity. Although it pains me to say it, I think a recent statement by heterodox...
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Trump, Russia, and Syria
Putin and Trump at a recent meeting in EuropeIt seems that Trump is going to reverse the U.S. policy of supporting the so called Free Syrian Army. The Washington Post Reports: President Trump has...
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Savage Murderers and What to Do About Them
ZAKA at the site of a Halamish terror attackIt’s impossibly hard! Impossibly hard to see pictures in the aftermath of the terrorist slaughter of a 70-year-old grandfather and his son and daughter. I...
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A Public Apology to Rabbi Ysoscher Katz
YCT Talmud Chair R' Ysoscher KatzA few weeks ago, I wrote a post strongly criticizing Rabbi Ysoscher Katz for an article he wrote in the Times of Israel. It was written in the aftermath of some very...
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Not a Hill Worth Dying On
Is this worth shedding our blood? (Illustration)Justice it is not. To put it mildly. But that is exactly what Rabbi Ari Abramowitz called saying Kaddish on Har HaBayis. He assembled a Minyan, went up...
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Chronicles of the Haredim
Review essay by Paul Shaviv, guest contributorOnce - almost the Rebbe? Rebbetzin Feige Teitelbaum (center) - Trainer StudioFor anyone, like me, who loves to read real history of Rebbes and leaders of...
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