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A Commutation, Observant Jews, and a Tax Cut
Shalom Rubashkin - Free at last!Thank you, Mr. President. You have righted a wrong. And corrected an injustice. Sholom Rubashkin who was convicted a financial crime had received a sentence far in...
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The United Nations - Esav Sonei L’Yaakov
Jerusalem of Gold - Israel’s holy capitalI am so tired of all the hand-wringing over the rest of the world’s condemnation of US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The media focus on that...
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Substance, Yes. Timing, No.
This is what is meant by Israel's capital (Cross Currents)I find myself in the odd situation of agreeing with two articles while wishing they hadn’t been published. The two articles are unrelated other...
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Men who Prey
Emanuel Feldman, rabbi emeritus of Beth Jacob AtlantaThe big story of the year is the #MeToo phenomenon. In that sense it’s been quite a cathartic year. Prominent men in all walks of life that would...
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Two out of Three!
Image from the Jerusalem PostShocking! That is the only word that can describe statistics reported by Vered Vindman, director-general of the National Council for the Child (as reported in the Jerusalem...
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Alleviating Poverty by Defrauding the Government?
Unrelated photo of a 'perp walk' for illustrative purposes onlyDesperate times call for desperate measures. That may have been their thinking, wrong though they were in this case.I don’t know much...
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Some Thoughts about Jews that Go OTD
Shulem Deen - Ex Chasid that went OTDOrthodox Jewry has many segments. (Even as they represent less than 10% of the Jewish population in the US. Where Jews as a whole are less than 2% of the US...
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A War Against Yeshivos?
Rabbi Aaron D. TwerskiI am a fan. I am full of admiration - not only of Rabbi Aaron D. Twerski, but of his entire extended family. (At least the ones I know about.) I don’t think it would be lying to...
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Is Extremism Becoming the Norm?
Ad in a Charedi magazine (Times of Israel)I think we all want the same thing. By ‘we’ I mean sane rational people that do not subscribe to extremism in any form. We want to reestablish normality in...
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Is a New Iranian Revolution Possible?
Student protests in IranI remember when Israel had an embassy in Iran. That was back in the good old days of the early 70s when that Shah was in charge. Iran was a Muslim country that had a secular...
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On Being Transgender
Image from TORAThe plight of being transgender is a subject that is very difficult for me to discuss. But it has become a hotly debated issue and a recent statement by TORA(Traditional Orthodox...
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What it's Like
by Beth Orens, Guest ContributorI received the following from an individual who is trans-sexual. It was originally a lengthy comment to yesterday's post on the subject. I thought it would be valuable...
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Pre-mature? Perhaps. Inevitable? Probably.
If it weren’t so sad, it would be funny. In a Times of Israel article Rabbi Todd Berman warns us that the time to say Kaddish on non Orthodox Judaism is premature. Perhaps it is. But it is inevitable...
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Erasure of Women - Fighting the Tide of Extremism
'Womanless' Illustration of Eishes Chayil (Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll via TOI)The issue is not going away. The increasing phenomenon of deleting or distorting images of women in right wing publications is...
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Secular Studies and Chasidim
Young Satmar Chasidim in Kiryas JoelThe lack of any realistic secular studies (Limudei Chol) program in most Chasidic schools is one of the more serious issues facing Orthodox Jewry. Serious because it...
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Vouchers
State Senator Dan Biss visits Arie Crown Hebrew day School (Agudah wesbite)Being an Orthodox Jew in America is privilege. But if you have children it is also very expensive. While being observant...
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An Ideology of Extremism and its Consequences
Street scene in Ramat Bet Shemesh - Bet (Jerusalem Post)To absolutely no one’s surprise - least of all mine - an Israeli soldier was attacked by an extremist living in Ramat Bet Shemesh (Bet). One may...
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Rewarding Murderers Cannot Buy Peace
IDF roadblock in the Nablus (Shechem) area (Jerusalem Post)I am not a fan of Israeli settlements. At least not those that are deep into the West Bank. Which are primarily settled for purposes of...
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Tolerance Yes – Celebration No
Dr. Saundra Epstein, director of the Welcoming Shuls Project. (NJJN)Rabbi Daniel Geretz is one of a handful of young YCT (Yeshivat ChoveveiTorah) ordainees whose compassion for every human being has...
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Af Al Pi Kein... (Nevertheless...)
The President of the United StatesI can’t. I just can’t! He has gone too far. What he said yesterday sickens me. I cannot support our President no matter how pro Israel he has been; no matter how...
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