Bet Din On The Clock: Nathan Lewin Wants Jewish Courts To Run More Efficiently
Like other chassidic dynasties, Bobov was not immune to one day experiencing a schism.
When Rabbi Naftali Zvi Halberstam, the fourth Bobover Rebbe, died in 2005, a dispute arose over who would succeed him. Some chassidim sought to appoint his younger half-brother, Rabbi Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam, as the next rebbe; and others sought out the fourth rebbe’s sons-in-law: Rabbi Mordechai Dovid Unger as the rebbe, and Rabbi Yehoshua Rubin as the Bobov rav (serving as head of the bet din and as the posek).
‘You Need 150 Salaries To Buy An Apartment – That’s Outrageous’: An Interview With...
This past summer, Israel made headlines for something other than the peace process or fighting terrorism when hundreds of thousands of its citizens took to the streets to protest social inequality and rising living costs.
Underreporting The Holocaust At The ‘Paper Of Record’: An Interview With Student Filmmaker Emily...
If you asked someone to outline the profile of a director making a film on The New York Times’s coverage of the Holocaust, “non-Jewish,” “college student,” and “South Carolina native” would probably not be the first descriptors he would use. Yet, they perfectly fit the profile of Emily Harrold, a 21-year-old senior who is currently completing “Reporting on the Times,” a film inspired by Laurel Leff’s 2005 book, Buried by the Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper.
When Terror Victims Fall Through The Cracks
The Second Intifada may have ended seven years ago, but countless Israelis injured during that harrowing period, and in the years since, continue to suffer.
HaMafteach: A User-Friendly Index Of The Talmud: An Interview With Author Daniel Retter
An index of the Talmud with more than 6,000 topical and 27,000 subtopical entries is a major undertaking and its publication a seminal event in Jewish scholarship.
Rabbi Kleiman – Still The First One In Shul
It’s not often that I get to speak to a rabbi about to celebrate his 99th birthday.
‘I Will Absolutely Fight For You’: An Interview With Would-Be State Senate Candidate David...
If the stars are aligned in his favor, attorney David Storobin will become the first immigrant from the former Soviet Union to serve as a New York state senator.
An Interview With Philanthropist Extraordinaire Sheldon Adelson
In September 2011, Forbes magazine ranked Sheldon Adelson the 8th richest man in America and 16th in the world.
The Ins And Outs Of Visiting The Sick: An Interview With Hospital Chaplain Rabbi...
Some people are naturals at visiting people in the hospital. Others feel awkward: What should I say? How long should I stay? Does the person even want me to come?
Orthodox Rhodes Scholar Excelled In Classroom But Found Spiritual Enrichment In Orthodox Union Program
In September 2008, Miriam Rosenbaum, a freshman from New York City, arrived at Princeton University to begin her four years of undergraduate education on the Ivy League campus.
Jewish Soldiers Find Spiritual Home At Fort Jackson, S.C.
When Rabbi Henry Soussan went through training at Fort Jackson in 2002, area Jewish options were limited, and being able to participate in Jewish holiday celebrations was tough. Nearly 10 years later, the instructor at the Columbia, South Carolina installation’s chaplain school is proud of the Chabad-Lubavitch-run Aleph House, which gives civilians and soldiers a Jewish base while they’re away from home.
‘I Never Expected To Win’: An Interview With Rhodes Scholar Miriam Rosenbaum
On Shabbos, November 19, Princeton University’s Miriam Rosenbaum made history by becoming the first Orthodox Jewish woman to win a Rhodes Scholarship. Roughly 1,500 Americans apply for the prestigious award each year, but only 32 ultimately receive it.
‘Ultimately, Scientists Always Realize The Torah Is Correct’: An Interview with Rabbi Moshe Meiselman
A nephew of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, Rabbi Meiselman learned Torah on a daily basis with his uncle for more than a decade. Rabbi Meiselman has just finished writing a book (as yet untitled) on Torah and science due to be published in the next few months.
1,000 Jews Vs. The British Empire: The Story Of Lehi: An Interview with...
The Irgun is famous; Lehi – the other Jewish underground that fought the British in the 1940s – less so. With only 1,000 fighters, as opposed to the Irgun’s 5,000, Lehi is sometimes thought of as the Irgun’s “kid brother.”
My Memories Of The Tzadaiket, Rebbetzin Kanievsky, z”tl
I wasn’t sure if I should write something about the petira of Rebbetzin Kanievsky, z"tl.
My first reaction was who am I to write about such a great person? How could I possibly describe who she was? She was so great that mere words cannot do her justice.
Leo Schreiber… From the Ashes of the Holocaust to a Beautiful, Loving, Life.
Cousin Leo Schreiber was the son of my grandfather's brother David. He came from a family of Rabbinic giants of Europe; the Europe that does not exist anymore. His family was loving and righteous and they were destroyed by Hitler, yimach shemo. But Leo survived.
Rabbi Julius Berman Reminisces On Rav Soloveitchik And 50 Years Of Community Service
Aside from being the first Orthodox Jewish layman to head the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (1982-1984), Rabbi Berman is also well known for the close relationship he shared with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (popularly called “the Rav”), who ordained him in 1959.
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, a son-in-law and student of the legendary Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik – rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University for 45 years – is one of Modern Orthodoxy’s most prominent and respected personalities.
‘We Want To Break The Leftist Monopoly On Public Discourse In Israel’: An Interview...
Laughter really is the best medicine. Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post and senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, has found humor and satire to be valuable tools in making the case for a strong Israel. Her latest venture to that end is Latma, the Hebrew-language media satire website Glick created and edits.
Lieberman Scaled Political Heights, But Wants Shabbat To Be His Legacy
WASHINGTON - Call Joe Lieberman the unlikely evangelist. The Independent senator from Connecticut - and the best-known Orthodox Jew in American politics - is probably more cognizant than most of his Jewish congressional colleagues about rabbinical interdictions against encouraging non-Jews to mimic Jewish ritual.
Recollections Of Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine, z"l, passed away on the first day of Pesach, one day before his 65th birthday. He was an erudite scholar who had received semicha from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Theological Seminary and a PhD in economics from New York University. He was equally at home in the world of Torah and in the secular world, and thus a unique combination of Torah and chochmah, something that is increasingly rare today. Furthermore, this intellectual prowess was clothed in a mantel of extreme humility.
A Religious Peace Activist Who ‘Woke Up To Reality’: An Interview With Dr. Mordechai...
Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar is an Israeli scholar of Arabic language and culture who served for 25 years in IDF military intelligence. He holds a Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University, where he is currently a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
AFSI Founder Herb Zweibon Dies At 84
Veteran pro-Israel activist Herbert Zweibon, founder and chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI, passed away in New York on Jan. 20 at age 84.
‘Israelis Need To See Themselves As Jews First’: An Interview with Panim el Panim...
As an IDF reserve colonel and a chozer b'teshuvah who studied for many years in yeshivot in Jerusalem, Geva Rapp finds himself in a unique position to relate to so many of today's generation in Israel who are searching for their Jewish heritage. Recognizing the dangers that the lack of basic Jewish knowledge among Israelis poses to the Jewish character of Israel, Rapp founded Panim el Panim in 2005 in an attempt to infuse Jewish values into Israeli daily life, particularly among Israeli youth.
The Shas Maverick Who Wants Haredim To Join Israel’s Workforce
JERUSALEM - Not so long ago, few Israelis had heard of Rabbi Chaim Amsellem, a soft-spoken Shas backbencher in the Knesset.
‘Israel Needs To Free Itself From Its Oslo State Of Mind’: An Interview With...
Widely recognized as an expert on Mideast politics and U.S.-Israel relations, Ambassador Yoram Ettinger advocates for Israel on both sides of the Atlantic, advising members of the Israeli Cabinet and Knesset and regularly briefing American legislators.
‘My Father’s Soul Was Burning To Help Klal Yisrael’: Amos Bunim Discusses the Legacy...
Irving Bunim (1901-1980) is probably best known among Orthodox Jews for his best-selling, three-volume Ethics From Sinaicommentary on Pirkei Avos.
Shkoyach!: A Chassidic Rabbi’s Offerings On Thanksgiving
Reuven Poupko wears many hats, aside from a fur-clad shtreimel. A rabbi, lawyer and psychologist, the Baltimore native also served as chief rabbi of Curacao from 1998-2001, and has taught in colleges, rabbinical seminaries and day schools. But this Thanksgiving, Poupko is going to swap his bekeshe for an apron as he takes his wife and children to the streets of downtown Baltimore to share a Thanksgiving dinner with some of the city's most downtrodden residents.
‘I Want Everybody To Know I’m Jewish’ : An Interview with Alan Dershowitz
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is best known for his legal prowess, but he is also the author of two dozen nonfiction works and three novels, the latest of which is The Trials of Zion. Set in Israel, the book's plot tells the story of three lawyers who defend an alleged Arab terrorist while simultaneously trying to discover who set off a bomb that killed the American president and Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a peace-signing ceremony in Jerusalem.
Tales Of Begin (And Other Prime Ministers): A Conversation with Ambassador Yehuda Avner
Political intrigue. Backroom discussions. Revealing portraits. These and more fill the pages of a new memoir by Ambassador Yehuda Avner, The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership (Toby Press). Hailed as the "ultimate insider's account," this 731-page book reveals hitherto unknown stories based on recollections and notes Avner took while working for four different Israeli prime ministers.