CategoryJudaism
Judaism December 1, 2020 December 1, 2020
What the Hasidim tell us about being Americans
"Vat's da matta? You neva saw a Yankee before?" It is no accident […] that "Science" has come to play the evil role, justifying state crimes, that "Religion" played in earlier times.
Judaism November 14, 2020
Bloodsucking Pelicans, a Dutch Jewish Symbol?
Amsterdam's Portuguese Jewish community adopted a seemingly strange image from Medieval Christian art.
Judaism November 13, 2020 November 17, 2020
A message to Donald Trump from the Parasha
Perhaps, if Trump does not overturn the election results, it is so that his merits remain etched in the eternal memory of our nation.
'Marital relationships stand on three things'
Learning about married life and a successful relationship from the story of the matchmaking between Yitzchak and Rivka.
Judaism November 11, 2020 December 17, 2020
Watch: 'First impressions inside Hasidic Jewish Community – NY'
'Join me as we dive into a serious cultural awakening inside of one of New York's Hasidic Jewish communities.'
Judaism November 9, 2020 November 10, 2020
'A bump in Trump's road to victory'
Rabbi Isser Zalman Weisberg on why 'Biden's temporary glory will soon come crashing down, and Trump's path to victory has taken a detour.'
Judaism November 7, 2020
Introducing Naamah, the "Mother of All Demons"
How the biblical figure of Naamah evolved into a terrifying demon that rises from the depths of the sea to seduce the men of the world.
Leading Hasidic rabbi denounces 'Jews who snitch' over violations of virus rules
Vizhnitz Rabbi Yisroel Hager says closure of ultra-Orthodox schools caused 'unbearable spiritual and material damage,' vows they won't be shuttered again.
A summary of the ideological debate between Zionism and ultra-Orthodox Judaism can be found in one meeting held in Bnei Brak way back in October of 1952
We, the ultra-Orthodox community, bear the burden of the Torah and its commandments. Therefore, the non-religious Zionists must defer to us and move out of our way.
Judaism October 30, 2020 October 30, 2020
'I rarely leave Israel. It's an ideological thing. There's nothing for me abroad' – excerpts
This week at the Tel Aviv airport.
Ultra-Orthodox non-compliance rests on fear
The rabbis are assigning higher priority to 'customer retention' than to the clear halakhic imperative to preserve health and life.
You will not believed what happened in Beitar: the lamb stepped to slaughter, a miraculous dream and a terrible divorce
The Kashani family from Beitar Illit raised a sheep as a kosher pet, but one day wounds appeared in his ear and he was taken to the slaughter.
Judaism October 17, 2020
The Origin of the Jewish Hat
How did the pointed hat of European aristocracy become an anti-Jewish Symbol? And was it the forerunner of the modern skullcap?
What is a 'moser'? The ugly, complicated history of Judaism's most dangerous accusation
Moser (also pronounced "moiser") literally means "one who hands over," in the sense of one who informs or turns over a Jew to the secular authorities.
Judaism October 3, 2020
How rabbi's social distancing edict saved his community from pandemic… in 1831
Nearly 200 years before the COVID-19 crisis, Rabbi Akiva Eger worked with medical experts and government authorities to help thwart a cholera outbreak, ultimately saving thousands
Judaism October 2, 2020 October 2, 2020
About Masechet Brachot
'We knew from before that the foundation of prayer is gratitude towards God. I said: "What gratitude? People are sitting here without parents, without children." That's when I reached the conclusion, which I wrote about later, that one cannot base the worship of God on gratitude, that there is something beyond it. "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 12:15) – that is a higher level. That understanding was strongly impressed upon me then.'