From Openness to Heresy
By Avrohom Gordimer Outright heresy is emanating from the heart of the YCT rabbinic world. No, this time we are not dealing with Open Orthodoxy (as YCT founder Rabbi Avi Weiss refers to his...
A Tisha B’Av Message, Penned in Pain and in Hope
We write in anguish and frustration, responding to the images that we have seen, and the words that we have heard in recent days. We have heard the Kol Yaakov (voice of Jacob) used...
Missing the Joke — and the Message
The lack of a sense of humor may not totally disqualify one from being a good teacher, but in, as they say, my humble opinion, it comes close. I had recent occasion to watch...
The Yeshivish Brand
by Yaakov Rosenblatt It was not my finest hour. Looking back, it was one of my worst. My wife and I moved from Lakewood, NJ to Dallas, TX to join a Kollel in February,...
Mood Poetry For the Three Weeks
by Yossi Huttler [Editor’s note: I am once again going to indulge my weakness for the poetry of Yossi Huttler. It is hard to get through Kinos without mourning for the lost art of...
A Modest Jewish Proposal
A reporter recently asked me whether I thought Jewish women could be experts in Jewish law. “Of course,” I responded without hesitation. The journalist was one of the horde of heralds who practically fell...
Non-Membership Has Its Advantages
Wherein is described a proposal that can alleviate stress, make you happier, and help bring the geulah. Not bad for a Nine Days message. We’ve been told before that we need to be more...
Women of the Wall: Praying, or Disturbing Prayer?
It is a pleasure to note that two active members of the Women Of the Wall, Susan Silverman and Dahlia Lithwick, have attempted to address several arguments which, they claim, have been made by...
A Fourth of July Thought
The very same thought occurred to me and to one of my daughters the night of July 4. I was walking home from Maariv (evening services) in Staten Island; my daughter was looking out...
Why Can’t They Be Like Me?
The current crisis in Eretz Yisrael constitutes an extended educational seminar on two topics: what is Torah, and what does it mean to be a student of Torah? At the outset, let’s dispense with...