So goes the legend in Jewish tradition: There were two brothers who together worked the earth on a piece of land they had inherited from their father. The brothers loved one another dearly. When … more

As I sit down to write this week’s column, I’m thinking about what I will eat before and after the fast (I’d rather not think about the fasting part). Jerry, on the other hand, … more

Originally published July 16, 2010 Every week now for the past half year there seems to be no letup in the growing quarrels between the diverse groups within the Orthodox Jewish spectrum and … more

This week’s haftarah for parashat Devarim is taken from the first chapter of Sefer Yeshayahu. As befitting the Shabbat immediately before Tisha b’Av, much of its message is very dark and … more

As the history of the Israelites in the wilderness is reviewed in Devarim, an interesting trend is presented. The nations of Eisav, Moav and Ammon are treated as closer than brothers with … more

Visit Yad Vashem , Israel’s national Holocaust museum, and wander off to the paths behind the plaza dedicated to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and you will come across an actual cattle car, one of … more

I n these days leading up to Tisha b’Av, the Temple Mount issue is coming to a head. Under the cover of “holiness” and of “worship” at a place so sacred, murder was … more

George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire, has all the makings of a character in a Hasidic fable.  Here is a man distrusted by many of his fellow Jews, and despised by quite a few of … more

Summer is my favorite season and so far, I’ve been keeping busy. My daughter and son-in-law’s dog, Murphy kept us company for a week while they enjoyed their first anniversary on July … more

S he was the Other Doctor of Auschwitz and I recently read a story about her in Yitta Halberstam’s small miracles series.  A young woman (we’ll call her Chaya) had just arrived … more