From the other side of the bench By David Seidemann Issue of March 27, 2009 / 4 Nissan 5769 A child is born and eight days later he is passed from one person to another, to another and … more

I'm thinking by Micah Halpern Issue of May 7, 2010/ 23 Iyar 5770 Ahmadinejad is not a lunatic. He is not crazy. He is not insane. He is not a madman driven by hatred. Ahmadinejad is a … more

The Jewish Star is proud to introduce this exclusive weekly feature by a renowned and respected educator Issue of August 27, 2010/ 17 Elul, 5770 By Rabbi Yakov Horowitz One by one, people … more

In 1916, in Portsmouth, Virginia, a little boy named Max was born. In two years his family, the Gifters, moved to Baltimore and when little Max was old enough he was sent to receive a full public school education. What was to follow in Max’s, now Mordechai’s, life was the legacy of one of America’s first native born sages who was to help redefine the status of Jewish religious learning both here in the United States and the world. more

Perhaps the most popular tractate of the Talmud among our people is the Mishnah Avot. What is unique to this particular book of the Talmud is that, unlike the other tractates, this one is a book of ethics not law. more

As the Republican and Democratic conventions draw near, the news media expends more of its time on election-related coverage. The focus is either on gaffes made by Vice President Biden, the fiscal policies and the fitness regimen of Mitt Romney’s choice for VP, Representative Paul Ryan, and the campaign battles between the two presidential candidates. more

A not-too-farfetched reading of the end of Chapter 45 can indicate that only one person intended to go down to Egypt to stay there. “… And bread and food for his father for the journey” (45:23). “He saw the wagons Yosef had sent to carry him…” (45:27) “Israel said, ‘My son Yosef still lives: I will go and I will see him before I die.’” (45:28) more

This week, as Jews across the world celebrate Chanukah, they also remember the victory of the Maccabees against the brutal rule of Antiochus IV, designated “Harasha” (“the wicked”) by rabbinic tradition. Antiochus’s main aim was to Hellenize the Jews in the ancient land of Israel by forcing them to adopt Greek customs in place of Jewish ones. more

Near the end of my portrait session, Dr. Ranan Wolff puzzled: “But you never asked me to smile!” True. I never do. My approach is to get meaningful expression that only comes from … more

It’s interesting to study the haftorahs, the Prophetic scriptures added to weekly Torah readings. If you first scan the portion of the week and then read the haftorah, inevitably there is a … more