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The Conversion Controversy Continues
Headquarters of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate (VIN)Conversion to Judaism is a touchy subject. Whenever the subject comes up it almost always guarantees a heated debate. And for good reason. Both sides...
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Religious Elitism in Education
Classroom (Matzav)Back in the late 50s, when I was an elementary school student at Yeshivath Beis Yehuda in Detroit my classmates consisted of an eclectic mix of religiosity. They were from homes with...
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Miss America, Beaches, and Modesty
I am not a fan of beauty contests. I don’t watch them when they are broadcast. I had always thought they were demeaning to women for a variety of reasons. Most of which have to do with presenting them...
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The Flawed Charedi Perspective about the 'Other'
Street scene in Bnei Brak‘Nebech, You have to understand. This fellow has 13 children to support!’ One may recall this comment made by a Chasidic Rebbe in Bnei Brak about one of his Chasidim. I...
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The Best Hashkafa
YU Mashpia R' Moshe Weinberger - proponent of Neo-Chasidus (Jewish Action)I must admit that I don’t really know much about Neo- Chasidus. Although it has recently become a public topic of discussion...
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A Look at the Insular Chasidic World
Chasidic community advocate, Issac Abraham (screenshot)Naftuli Moster is a Moser. He is an ‘up to no good’ expatriate Chasid that is no longer religious who has a vendetta against his former community....
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The Band’s Visit
Scene from The Band's Visit (Playbill)10 Tony awards.Tony is the name of the award given for achievements in theater production on Broadway. It’s comparable to the Oscar for movie production. The play...
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Jewish, American, and International Support for Israel
Israeli Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett (WJD)There has been a lot of angst of late about American Jewish disaffection with Israel. Which should be a concern for anyone that...
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Using Weddings as a Shidduch Resource
Typical Charedi Chuppa (YWN)Well… it appears one of my ideas regarding the so-called Shidduch crisis has actually found some currency among the right wing. I for one am very happy to hear of...
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Another Orthodox Sexual Predator
Yaakov ShapiroI remember my reaction to Frumteens when I happened upon it a few years ago. Frumteens was a website that catered to troubled teens seeking answers to difficult questions about Judaism. I...
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Michael Chabon's Nihilism
HUC honorary PhD recipient, Chabon and his sponsor Tamara Eskenazi (JTA)Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Michael Chabon, has made quite the splash in the Jewishmedia.I hadn’t paid much attention to him...
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A Nation of Immigrants – and Yet…
Holocaust era assistant Secretary of State, Breckenridge LongI’ve more or less avoided dealing with the issue of illegal immigration. Not because it isn’t important. It clearly is. I have avoided it...
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A Masterful Analysis of a Troubling Issue
Chasidim - Do they not care what the world thinks of them -of Jews?He nailed it! Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein’s post on Cross-Currents expresses my views almost to a T on an issue that has been troubling...
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Messianism – Alive and Well in Chabad
'Giant gathering! Messiah in the square' says the posterI thought the issue was dead and buried… just like their leader, R’ Menachem Mendel Schneerson – the 7th and last Lubavitcher Rebbe who died...
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Calling Them Animals is Insulting! (…to animals)
Hussein Dawabshe and his surviving grandson (mondoweiss)I once believed there cannot possibly be any Jews in the world that are unworthy of being called human. I have however been disabused of that...
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Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Goldzweig - One of Kind
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Goldzweig, (Matzav)Every year before Pesach there is a public Shiur in Chicago dealing with questions about what is and isn’t Kosher for Pesach. One of my most memorable moments...
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When Chumra Leads to a Chilul HaShem
Image for illustration purposes only (Ynet)One of the ideals of the Charedi Hashkafa is ‘being Choshesh for the Daas HaMachmir’ (stringent view). In essence this explains their identity as Charedim as...
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Roseanne, Trump, Racism, and Teshuva
Roseanne Barr (Jerusalem Post)I have to admit that I never liked Jewish comedienne Roseanne Barr. I did not particularly enjoy her humor. So when I heard that her old TV series that first aired some 30...
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Orthodoxy Defined?
Rabbi Avi ShafranI happen to be an admirer of both and usually agree with the views of both. Today I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing with them. I am talking about Rabbis Avi Shafran and Natan...
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The Race to Frumkeit - and Me
Part of the negative fallout with the ascendancy of the Charedi world is the well known phenomenon of sliding to the right. (Which I prefer calling the great Chumra chase.) One might ask, ’What’s...
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