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Is an Egalitarian Space at the Kotel Really Needed?
A daily prayer service at the Egalitarian Section of the Kotel (Times of Israel)I know this might seem like overkill since I have dealt with this issue so many times, but I can’t resist pointing out...
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Sexual Abuse in the Orthodox World
Image from JTA for illustrative purposes onlyIs Orthodox Judaism a greater source of sexual abuse than it is in the general population? I am flabbergasted to say that it very well might be. At least at...
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Religious Zealots or Religious Thugs?
Israeli MK Rachel Azaria - running for Mayor of JerusalemNebech. All they want is to live their lives Al Taharas HaKdeosh (which basically means living in ways even holier than they need to be lived)....
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Good Government Policy or Antisemitism?
Image of Kiryas Joel for illustration purposes (Times of Israel)I have no illusions about antisemitism in the world. It clearly exists in all four corners of it. The question is how much it impacts us....
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Second Thoughts
Israel's Minster of Education - MK Naftali Bennett (Times of Israel)I’m having second thoughts. When Israel passed it Jewish Nation State law a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was merely a...
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Liberals Ain't What They Used to Be
Jeremy Corbyn“I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.” So said Conservative Republican, President Ronald Reagan when he was asked why he became a Republican. How right he was...
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The Unconventional Kiruv of Agudah
Camp Nageela Yakov Vinnik is a pretty smart fellow. Over Shabbos I had a discussion with him on a variety of issues and found him to be bright and knowledgeable. Including on the subject of religion in...
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A Modest Proposal
Female IDF instructor demonstrating a move (Jerusalem Post)Whenever someone prefaces a comment with the disclaimer ‘I’m no prude but…’ you can be sure it is going to have a moralizing tone to it. A...
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What God Wants - Not What We Want
Maharat Hadas Fruchter will be opening a new Shul in Philidelphia (JTA)I recently had a conversation with an Orthodox woman who asked me a question I had difficulty answering. She asked me the...
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Pride? No. Shame? Absolutely!
Peleg Protesters (VIN)Here we go again. According to a story in JTA (republished at VIN) I am ashamed to report that 400 Charedi students did their level best to make yet another Chilul HaShem - in...
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Glatt Kosher Prison Food
Convicted sex offender Nechemya Weberman - a glatt Kosher Jew?What began more than a decade ago as a facility to provide New York State inmates who desired kosher with inherently kosher fruits and...
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There is No Schism: “Modern Orthodoxy” has Two Fundamentally Separate Sects
by Moshe KurtzMoshe KurtzI do not normally post articles that have been published elsewhere. The vast majority (by far) of material published here is original. Including the occasional guest...
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What on Earth is Happening in Britain?
Guest contribution by Paul Shaviv Jeremy Corbyn - Will he be the next Prime Minister of the UK?I am once again pleased to host another fine essay by Paul Shaviv, one of the most respected educators in...
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Breaking the Nuclear Deal with Iran
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei (WSJ)I can understand why those who supported the nuclear deal with Iran did so. Their argument seemed quite solid. A terrorist regime like Iran equipped...
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Loving the OTD Child
Chasidim walk past a “modesty sign“ in Beit Shemesh (JTA)What is happening in the extremist suburb of Ramat Bet Shemesh - B (RBS-B) is sickening. Although there is enough blame to go around and to be...
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Egalitarian Rights Versus Religious Rights
IDF parachuting instructor poses with her father, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva (TOI) Protecting religious rights or egalitarian rights... What should come first? The answer is not always an ‘either/or’....
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Whose Fault Is It, Anyway?
Aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in GazaIsrael has sent over 180 rockets indiscriminately into Gaza where innocent Palestinians reside. Without any provocation.OK - that never happened. But what would...
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Another Nail in the Coffin of Conservative Judaism
Yet another nail in the coffin of the Conservative Judaism was articulated by Jonathan Rosenblum and Eytan Kobre in last week’s issue of Mishpacha Magazine. Although Jonathan’s op-ed was about Kiruv,...
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Image Does Matter
RabbiYisroel Meyer Kagan - The Chafetz ChaimImage or substance… which is more Important? The answer most thinking people would give is substance. At least it should be. As our sages tell us, ‘Do not...
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Pain, Love, and Belief
Dan Ryenolds of Imagine Dragons (Jewish Journal)Does pain make one a believer? That is the question explored by a popular song called ‘Believer’ by Imagine Dragons. (A song which I happen to love - but...
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