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Can Gay People Lead Straight Lives?
New York State legislature debates protecting LGBT rights (Washington Times)When I first learned about what conversion therapy was all about, I was appalled. It seemed to amount to no less than a...
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Democrats, Republicans, and Israel
Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm - leader of the new faction (A-7)There has been a lot of talk about the Democratic Party drifting away from support of Israel. And if you are a liberal...
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When good Intentions Lead to Bad Results
Independant religious court headed by Rabbi Daniel Sperber (VIN)Annuling a marriage is not the sole province of Catholics. Judaism allows it too. for Catholics it is a device used to circumvent their...
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The State of the Union
76%. That – according to a CBS poll taken last night - is the percentage of Americans that approved of the President’s State of the Union Address last night. And yet according to a Rasmussen Poll he...
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Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein - The Passing of an Unsung Giant
Rabbi Yechiel EcksteinAcharei Mos Kedoshim. These Hebrew words signify two consecutive weekly Torah portions But they are often used to describe how an individual, who was criticized in life, becomes...
View ArticleThe Child Victims Act
I supported the bill. Reluctantly. The New York State legislature passed the Child Victims Act last week by a whopping 130-3 majority. A bill that was opposed by The Catholic Church and – more...
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Anti Charedi Bigotry - Undeserved but, Sadly, Understandable
I am ambivalent. In a Forward op-ed, Rabbi Avi Shafran recently lamented the prejudice directed at Charedi Jews - both here and Israel. I am sympathetic to his concern. Surely no group should be...
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Is Liberalism Really Winning?
Retired Israeli General Benny GantzOne would think that in the current political climate, that liberalism is on the rise. If the last election showed us anything, it showed a definite leftward tilt. At...
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Blaming Women. Again!
Rabbi Meir Kessler, Av Beis Din of Kiryat Sefer (Wiki)What we need most in our world right now is more tragedies. At least that’s what it seems like to those who need tragedies to push forward an...
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The Limits of Modern Orthodoxy
(L-R) R' Nathaniel Helfgot, Marriane Novack, & R' Kenny Schiowitz (JTA)First I want to say that Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot is an honorable man. He is as ethical as they come. He is bright and...
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A Coed Shabbaton in YU
Yeshiva University Beis HaMedrash (New York Jewish Week)I have mixed feelings about this. (No pun intended). Yeshiva University will be hosting a coed Shabbaton this coming Shabbos. There are not...
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Getting Rid of Trump is the Democratic Endgame
Democratic Representative, Adam Schiff - Witch Hunter in ChiefLike many others I eagerly await the special committee chairman, Bob Mueller’s report about his investigation of the Trump Campaign. I too...
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The New Face of the Democratic Party
Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar (New York Post)Are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar the new face of the Democratic Party? Most Democrats will say no, they are not. They will say that these two...
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Would You Leave Your Home for Peace?
Tamar, a resident of Shilo on the West Bank (Screenshot)OK. It’s not a scientific survey. But a short video I saw on Life in Israel (view-able below) about Israeli settlers gave me some insight into...
View ArticleMore Evidence: The Democratic Party is Rapidly Moving Leftward
Not that I want to belabor my point about the Democratic Party moving leftward... but I cannot resist pointing out that socialist and progressive Independent Bernie Sanders (who just announced he will...
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Helping Criminals Get Away with Crime
Police raid lab producing forged passports, checks, in Bayit VeGan (VIN)What is it that makes people that are so Medakdek (meticulous) in observance Halacha (to the point of rejecting all outside...
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The Ascendancy of Female Rabbis in Orthodoxy
Rabbanit Dasi Fruchter, current assistant spiritual leader at Beth ShalomThe wave of the future in Orthodoxy is the Traditional Movement. That was the thinking in Chicago back in the 60s when I was a...
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Why I Oppose the Safety Respect Equity Coalition
SafetyRespectEquity logoI can think of few issues as important these days as fighting sexual abuse, harassment and bias against women. It needs to be eradicated. It is not arguable that it still...
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Thoughts about the Upcoming Israeli Election
Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz (Jewish Press)Well, it looks like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may finally have his head handed to him. Not necessarily by a possible indictment against him....
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Daf Yomi and Yeshiva University
Rav Hershel Schacther (from an Adas Yeshurun promo)I study Daf Yomi. Which is a program initiated by Rav Meir Shapiro over 100 years ago. It commits one to study one Blatt (a ‘leaf’ or 2-sided page) of...
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