This week’s literary choice is “The Person in the Parasha: Discovering the Human Element in the Weekly Torah Portion” by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb (OU Press, Maggid, … more

Ah gutten vinter,” my father wished me as I departed after Simchat Torah, the last of the holidays. Back in the day, that was the traditional greeting with which one signed off the High Holiday … more

There are few things in life that can elicit a collective gasp from everyone in a room. A real shocking twist in a novel is limited to the reader, while the same twist in a film might be expected by … more

One of the most enduring images of last summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro captured Islam El Shehaby, an Egyptian judo competitor, or judoka, turning his back on the outstretched hand of … more

UNESCO’s history-defying vote asserting that the Temple Mount is sacred only to Muslims, echoes anti-Israel propaganda across the Middle East and ignores that the ancient Greeks, Romans, … more

The public kriah (reading) of King Solomon’s Megillat Kohelet is one of the highlights of Shabbat Chol Hamoed Succot. According to many commentators, it is a précis of its author’s … more

What an irony. I always knew that the first commentary on a Sukkot machzor describing the rather sharp medieval reaction to a British-based Simchat Torah service would come from the pen of a former … more

I’ve been baking challah for about 34 years. I added honey, margarine, sugar and cinnamon, way before it was in vogue. I always wanted to find a recipe I loved for a water challah … more

The U.S. State Department denounced the latest terrorist attack in Jerusalem by condemning “the statements glorifying this reprehensible and cowardly attack.” At first, it might seem … more

Sukkot is related to the way the Jewish people lived while wandering in the desert for 40 years, building tents called sukkot that sheltered them. In their wildest dreams, I don’t think they … more