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The Uncomfortable Truth about American Jewry
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely“People that never send their children to fight for their country, most of the Jews don’t have children serving as soldiers, going to the Marines, going...
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A Different Kind of Achdus
Settlers in Elazar resisting law enforcement (VIN)What a ‘splendid’ example of Achdus. The similarities of these two observant communities are stark. They are both strictly observant of Halacha; are...
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Agudah's Narrow Achdus
One of the speakers at the convention featured on an Agudah websiteAgudah Israel’s annual convention was held last week in New York. Professor Yitzchok Levine, a respected and frequent contributor to a...
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Congratulating the Engagement of a Gay Couple
HIR congratulating the engagement of a gay coupleI realize that what I am about to say may be upsetting to modern concepts of fairness and the libertarian ideal of being non judgmental of what others...
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Will the President Make Good on His Promise?
Menachem and Ari Zivotofsky (WJC)Menachem Zivotofsky was disappointed. So was his father, Ari. In 2015 the Supreme Court struck down a law passed by Congress in 2002 that would have allowed him to list...
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Reaching Out to the Modern Jew
Rabbi Eytan FeinerI am sympathetic to the goals of liberal rabbis (formerly known as Open Orthodox). What do they want except to be fair and welcoming to the widest variety of Jews? What rabbi worthy...
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Are Orthodox Jews Assimilating to the Christian Right?
Colorado baker Jack Phillips who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay coupleThe answer is no. The question in the title was raised by Batya Ungar-Sargon in a Forward opinion piece about whether...
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Recognizing Reality
No Jewish connection to the Temple Mount? Really?Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. That is about the most natural statement one could ever make about a country and its capital. It rolls off the...
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What Now?
Harry Truman with Israel’'s first President, Chaim WeizmannI am still reveling in yesterday’s announcement by President Trump – recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This is one of those...
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Birthright - Why Reform Judaism is Failing
Reform leader, Rabbi Rick JacobsI hate to keep criticizing the Reform Movement. But if the shoe fits…It seems that a program called Birthright Israel has dropped the Reform movement from participation...
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Liberal versus Conservative
I know many of my Orthodox friends who identify as liberal may not like what I am about to say. But I am all about Emes – the truth as I see it. For the record I do not identify as either liberal or...
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Sexual Misconduct and Biblical Ethics
Time Magazine 'Person of the Year' - The Silence Breakers (MeToo)A couple of weeks ago, I read an interesting - and apparently not so well known story about Shlomo Carlebach. I don’t know if it’s true...
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The Death of a Giant
Scene in Bnei Brak today - hundreds of thousands attended his funeral I am saddened beyond words to report the passing of a gentle giant, Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman. He died earlier today at age 104.R’...
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It’s Really All About Politics
Alabama's new Senator Doug Jones celebrating his victory last nightI often say that my political views lean conservative both socially and fiscally. I should add the word ‘mostly’ to that. I lean...
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#MeToo? Really?
Rabba Sara HurwitzThere is truth in much of Rabba Sara Hurwitz’s article in the New York Daily News. I have actually discussed these issues myself in sympathy with her feelings. As she notes, we are...
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A Pleasant Memory and a Confrontation
Rabbi Shmuel AuerbachMy recollections of Zevhil are quite pleasant. Warm feelings envelop me as I recall my oldest grandson’s Bris there. Zevhil is the name of a Chasidic group that about 20 years...
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Yeshiva is Not for Everyone
Not for EveryoneShortly after he Agudah convention, I happened to speak to a friend of mine who is a Rebbe in a mainstream Charedi yeshiva. He was asked to speak at one of the convention. It’s too bad...
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Whose Values will Win?
List of people to harass (Life in Israel)I love Ramat Bet Shemesh. I really do. If I were to make Aliyah to Israel, that would be the city in which I would choose to live. This would be an obvious...
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Obama’s Folly
Former President Barack Obama (Jerusalem Post)When the left criticizes a leftist hero, it gets my attention. This is precisely what has happened with an expose in Politico - a progressive left wing...
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The 'Wonder Woman' of the United Nations
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikky HaleyOne of the brightest spots of a Trump administration mired in controversy is the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikky Haley. In the history of the...
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