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Has Yiddishkeit Become a Spectator Sport?
Chasidic family in Boro Park for illustrative purposes onlyI hate labels. I really do. I’ve mentioned this before. But for those that are not familiar with my view on this subject let me explain it.One...
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For the Love of Torah? Or the Love of One’s Self!
Simchas Torah is a joyous time. In Israel it combines with Shemini Atzres. So that all the dancing takes place on that day. There is not second day in Israel - unless you are a visitor from outside the...
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Open Orthodoxy - Truth Versus Exaggeration
Orthodox Jewish billionaire and philanthropist - R' Shlomo RechnitzEven though he is Charedi, and I am a Centrist - Modern Orthodox (MO) Jew, I tend to agree with Shlomo Rechnitz on many matters. As...
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The Fallacy and Destructiveness of Stereotyping
Charedi JewsOne of the more unfortunate by-products of labeling various groups of people is how they are often associated with certain types of behavior. Orthodox Judaism is not immune to that at all....
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Bye Bye Bet Shemesh - We Will Miss You
Ramat Bet Shemesh AlephBack to Chicago. My wife and I are on our way back from Israel – having spent yet another wonderful Yom Tov in in Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph (...except for Yom Tov Sheni of Simchas...
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Is Harvey Weinstein Emblematic of Our Time?
Harvey WeinsteinAnother giant has fallen. In a highly publicized expose in the New York Times Harvey Weinstein has been outed as a serial womanizer that has been accused of sexually harassing many...
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An Unbridgeable Gap?
Image from the Jewish Week for illustration purposes onlyThe more I observe what is going on in the Modern Orthodox world, the less confident I am about its future as a single cohesive right to left...
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The Buck Stops with Rabbi Auerbach
Blocked ambulance at 'Days of Rage' protest (YWN)Unfortunately, this isn’t news, disgusting though it may be. I am not at all surprised by it. I wasn’t even going to address it – since I have done so...
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The War Against Modesty
Award Winning Actress, Mayim BialikThe minute someone mentions modesty with respect to sexual harassment (or worse), they may as well have said that it’s OK to rape women. At least that’s the knee jerk...
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The Media Bias is Palpable
John Kelly during an emotional press conference defending the PresidentI find myself in the awkward position of defending the President again. Something I am not comfortable doing. Why I feel that way...
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Sick to my Stomach
Rabbi Shmuel AuerbachLast Friday I posted my views about a disgusting Chilul HaShem carried out in the streets of Jerusalem. One that Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach was responsible for. He called for a 'day of...
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Modern Orthodoxy Through the Eyes of a Wise Teen
Rapper Jay Z - Is he the role model MO youth aspire to emulate? Wisdom comes with age. But it is not the sole province of our elders. That has been demonstrated by a teenager who is wise beyond his...
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2 Problems - 2 Solutions
4 of the over 50 women with assault allegations against Harvey WeinsteinThere are 2 things dominating the current news cycle. One shows how the moral fiber of this country has deteriorated. The other...
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A Climate of Hate
Israel's Minster of Health, Yaakov LitzmanThere’s an old joke (albeit not such a funny one in my view) about the Brisker Rav, and Netruei Karta leader, R’ Amram Blau. It goes something like this: Both...
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Den of Iniquity? Hardly!
Not your father's IDFI’ve heard it so many times. The purpose of drafting Charedim into the Israeli army (IDF) is to take the Judaism out of its Jews. This is one of the primary arguments used by the...
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What They Really Want
Members of the Jewish Agency leadership at the egalitarian section of the KotelOne wall for one people. This is what ‘progressive rabbis’ like Reform Rabbi Rick Jacobs are insisting upon. What they are...
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Reflections on Shlomo Carlebach z”l
By Paul Shaviv, Guest ContributorShlomo CarlebachI received the following tribute to Shlomo Carlebach from Paul Shaviv. Carlebach was a controversial figure during his lifetime and even now. Without...
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Intermarriage - Is there a Solution?
Courage. That is the word I think best describes Professor Roberta Kwall’s latest op-ed published in the New York Jewish Week. It took a lot of courage for someone that considers herself a Conservative...
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A Culture Where Women are Sex Objects
Ex- President George H. W. Bush and actress Heather LindSexual abuse, sexual molestation, sexual harassment… are they all the same? Should they be treated the same way by society? Does it make any...
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Learing From History
Scenes like this are disappearing as more Jews shed their Jewish identityRabbi Berel Wein is really on target. He gets it. Except for Orthodox Jews, American Jewry is dying. While not blaming...
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