With his wild hair, bushy beard and American background, journalist and author Gershom Gorenberg could be mistaken for a West Bank settler. He has written numerous news stories and books on the territories. more

They call it “Hitting the Wall.” Three or four months after arriving in Israel many first-year Yeshiva students feel morose, anxious, even depressed. I hit the wall back in December. more

We all know that Lashon Harah is “gossip” and the “evil tongue.” And we all know that the Torah actually, and almost uniquely, assigns a specific punishment for Lashon Harah; it is leprosy. And we all know that you don’t see much leprosy around anymore even though Lashon Harah exists. more

I was among some 80 bloggers invited to cover the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC last week. CPAC is more than an opportunity to interview political figures and report on politics. It’s like a Star Trek Convention for political geeks. Instead of carrying phasers and putting on pointy ears, we carried laptops and wore fedoras. more

How did Nathaniel Hawthorne dream it up? How did he come up with his short story “The Minister’s Black Veil?” The Puritan minister of an old New England town one day inexplicably covers his face with a black veil that casts a shadow of gloom between him and his community to the day of his death. Hawthorne read this week’s parshah, no doubt. more

Wanting to experiment more with French cuisine, I recently began cooking using recipes from Joan Nathan’s cookbook “Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous.” The book contains an interesting compilation of recipes and the stories behind them. more

His first creative works were classroom caricatures. His latest works can be heard in concert and read in published books. Yisroel Juskowicz takes on all talents at once. more

Dear Aviva, My husband quit smoking before we ever met, and when we dated I made it very clear that I will not tolerate him picking up the habit again. We’re married about 4 years and I’ve recently been noticing signs that he has gotten into it again. I confronted him, and he fessed up right away, but I am so mad at him! I’m worried that my kids will grow up with a bad role model while they’re inhaling second-hand smoke—which is way worse than regular smoking! How do I get him to stop? more

Mendele Mokher Seforim, the nineteenth century Yiddish writer, famously wrote, “Among Jews, a birthday is no holiday. But the anniversary of a death; that a Jew remembers.” Last Friday’s (2/11) Hebrew date was the 7th of Adar I, the date of the death of Moshe Rabbeinu, as well as the date of his birth. (Kiddushin 38a) more

“Hi, my name is Heshy; I’m a liberal-holic.” Everyone in the synagogue basement room, sitting on folding chairs, responds, “Hi Heshy!” Heshy speaks, “I’m a little bit nervous to share my story. I guess I’ve always been a liberal-holic. Ever since I was a kid I can remember not really caring about anyone but wanting to make it look like I cared.” Moans of understanding emanate from the crowded room. more