Posted on: August 5th, 2009

The Jewish Press spoke last week with Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Israel's Sephardi chief rabbi since 2003, on the contentious issue of conversion to Judaism.

Posted on: July 29th, 2009

Suffice it to say that when I moved in with Dorothy, my friends were in shock. Most of them were planning to live in the more popular Washington Heights, whereas I had decided to remain in midtown Manhattan. Mostly, however, most of their astonishment was because I was 22, and Dorothy, or Mrs. Hilf, as I call her, was 95.

Posted on: July 29th, 2009

Victor D. Sanua, Ph.D., z"l, a pioneer in cross-cultural studies of mental illness, was also known for his studies on American Jewish communities and the Jews of Egypt, passed away July 12, at the age of 88 in Brooklyn, New York.

Posted on: July 22nd, 2009

An Interview With Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Alex Storozynski

Posted on: July 15th, 2009

The hottest event at the 18th Maccabiah Games currently being held in Israel could be the anticipated encounter between the American and Israeli men's basketball squads during the playoffs next week, a prospect that Bruce Pearl - the University of Tennessee and Maccabi USA coach - is actually counting on.

Posted on: July 15th, 2009

Not widely appreciated during his lifetime, composer Gustav Mahler famously predicted, "My time will yet come." And it did. Aaron Blumenfeld, a 77-year-old composer from the San Francisco Bay Area, hopes a similar future is in store for him - and the sooner, the better.

Posted on: July 15th, 2009

"When I first started," said Beverly Marcus, "I couldn't sleep the night before because I'd be so nervous, wondering what I'd do and how it would go. And then I wouldn't sleep the night after a class, either, because I was so excited. It really gives me a high."

Posted on: July 1st, 2009

I had recently had the opportunity to sit down with Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld, author of the new book, The Art of Kavana (Devora Publishing, July 2009) and discuss what it means to truly focus on yiddishkeit.

Posted on: July 1st, 2009

Tzipi Hotovely, 30, is the youngest member of Knesset and a rising star in the Likud party. She grew up in Rechovot and earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Bar Ilan University, where she served as editor of the Law Review.

Posted on: June 24th, 2009

The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent named him one of the top dozen "Jewish activists of the century." The New York Times called him "a relatively rare voice from the outset in the American Jewish community against the Oslo peace accords." The Wall Street Journal praised him as "wise, brave, and unflinchingly honest."

Posted on: June 17th, 2009

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, longtime spiritual leader of Chicago's Modern Orthodox Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation, comments about his famous congregant, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Jewish rights to settle in Israel; plans to build in the Negev; Orthodoxy and pluralism; and political talk from the pulpit.

Posted on: June 17th, 2009

In one of his thousands of aphorism-filled columns for The Jewish Press, Dr. Morris Mandel wrote, "Counting time is not as important as making time count."

Posted on: June 3rd, 2009

Many years ago, an Arab called a friend of his. "They're after me, they want to kill me and my family. No one will help us. What can we do?" His friend, realizing the seriousness of the situation, quickly answered. "Come to my house. I'll keep you here until it's safe for you elsewhere." The Arab and his family lived with his friend for quite a while.

Posted on: June 3rd, 2009

There are dozens of English-translated siddurim on bookshelves these days. Surely, you may think, we don't need another one. But before you make up your mind, consider that the new one that has just come out is translated by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Kingdom. Rabbi Sacks, who also wrote a commentary and introduction, has been a consistently brilliant source of insight into Jewish philosophy, Chumash, and other topics.

Posted on: May 20th, 2009

He put on tefillin every day. He was rarely absent from shul. He ate only kosher. But during the busy season in the garment industry, this Bronx Jew who grew up in the first half of the 20th century worked on Shabbat. Can such a person be considered an Orthodox Jew?

Posted on: May 13th, 2009

Natan Sharansky has been a hero of mine ever since I learned this courageous refusenik refused to be exchanged for two spies without the Book of Psalms he had treasured for nine torturous years in Soviet prisons.

Posted on: May 6th, 2009

On any given week, one can hear Aaron Klein's voice on the radio or read his articles online or in print media. Now, this investigative Jewish Press columnist, WorldNetDaily.com Jerusalem bureau chief, and author of Schmoozing With Terrorists has completed his second book with the provocative title The Late Great State of Israel. He recently spoke about his new book with The Jewish Press.

Posted on: May 6th, 2009

It takes courage and guts for a well-known person in the Orthodox world to write a memoir, a personal account sharing chapters of her life, which include how she became frum. On May 11 in New York, Leah Kotkes, a beloved writer among her readers, will release her first book, a candid, friendly, page-turner: The Map Seeker: One Woman's Quest.

Posted on: April 22nd, 2009

He certainly didn't waste any time. Cantor Chaim Adler began his chazzanut career at age 10; today, he is known as "the chief cantor of Tel Aviv" and one of the most prominent cantors in the world.

Posted on: April 22nd, 2009

Making aliyah in 2000 afforded our family an opportunity to become part of the continuity of the Jewish people in the Jewish Land. In addition, we have been blessed to live in a community that has both the brightest Jewish minds of our times and some of the most courageous Jews of our generation.