A few weeks ago, at a now much publicized Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Kotel, things got ugly. As they have been doing for nearly 25 years, a group of women from a range of Jewish backgrounds, known as the Women of the Wall, gathered at the Kotel to pray the special morning prayers of Rosh Chodesh, celebrating the new month in the Jewish calendar. This group included women wearing tallitot and Tefillin, and reading from a Torah scroll. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews (a label that needs defining--beyond the scope of this article) arrived to protest, and things soon got out of hand. more

In the year 1263, Raymond de Penyafort of Spain challenged the Jewish people to a debate. As the Church’s representative, he chose a Dominican friar named Pablo Christiani, a Sephardic Jew who … more

G o to a Yemenite Jewish wedding or Bar Mitzvah and you will hear the women shouting the yelilot traditionally “sung” at all celebrations. I still recall when being called to the Torah … more

A former chief rabbi accused and arrested for possible bribery and embezzlement, a rabbinic leader found guilty of inappropriate behavior with his students, and yet another rabbi accused of bribing senior police officers. Even if one has to take what one reads in the press with a grain of salt, something is clearly amiss. Where have we gone wrong? How can we avoid these horrific pitfalls in the future? more

Issue of Feb. 6, 2009 / 12 Shevat 5769 Pre-schoolers at Yeshiva of South Shore’s Hollander Early Childhood Center studied the 10 plagues in a hands-on, non-frightening way. They poured and … more

There is war, and then there is madness. In war, one often has to fight, but when madness sets in, sometimes, perhaps one simply has to run. Such was the question on that dark October afternoon in 1973, when the quiet beauty and desolation of the Suez Canal was ruptured by the roar of an entire army crossing the water, bent on bloodshed. more

What makes leaders willing to sacrifice everything? This week marked nine years since my cousin Benjy Hillman fell in battle leading his men into combat in the second Lebanon War in 2006. One would … more

In the fall of 2012, Israel was again preparing for war in response to the thousands of missiles being fired indiscriminately from the Gaza Strip into the population centers of southern Israel. … more

One of the most important moments before a mission, in which the right commander can make all the difference actually has very little to do with the actual mission. After all the training is done, and all the preparations are in order, the unit is ready to go, and the waiting game begins. And there is a moment, a last opportunity, for the commander to inspire his men. more

Visiting Poland is an overwhelming experience. It is a country in which a Jewish community flourished for a thousand years which now serves as a mass memorial to European Jewry. It is impossible to … more