The Beacon

Stranger, you know me even if you don’t. (My friends, I’m sorry if this is how you’ll learn.) You know me because I am your classmate; I am an acquaintance, your neighbor or brother. There is a possibility that we have spent thirteen years in the same school, or have seen each other every Shabbat [...]

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All generalizations are false, including this one. -Mark Twain Through all the fascinating trends in American culture, there has always been one feature that distinguishes us from our European and fellow Western counterparts. Henry James called this feature American naivete and contrasted it to the mien of the experienced European intellectual. But what is the [...]

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Author’s Note: This article contains a discussion about female sexuality. People who are sensitive towards such topics are forewarned.  To read a response to this article, please see http://thebeaconmag.com/2012/04/letters-to-the-editor/female-sexuality-a-wifes-letter-to-the-editor/. [This link was incorrect before but has since been updated.]  I consider myself a pretty open-minded person. My friends and acquaintances know this about me and [...]

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Cynicism has gotten to be quite popular. I like to be cynical when I see people making strong statements without adequate backing for them. Everyone likes to be cynical about their least liked politician’s motives when he or she advances a policy. Certainly, the author of “Kony 2012: A Heartwarming Tale of Cynicism” likes to [...]

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The reactions have poured in, fast and furious—emphasis on furious. Noted author and trailblazer Yitta Halberstam recently wrote what might be the most universally offensive article about shidduchim that the world has ever seen. Ms. Halberstam, best known for co-authoring the popular “Small Miracles” book series, was also featured in an article in the NY [...]

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Yesterday, I sat in on a sex education course at an Orthodox high school. The class was for seniors, the first one they had been offered on the subject; they were understandably full of questions. I realized, based upon the nature of their questions, how vital this course is. If you search on the Web [...]

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“Mom, can I make Rice Krispy treats?” “No, sweetie, that’s your sister’s job. Why don’t you go play catch with your brother?” Gender polarizing statements like these, ubiquitous in American society and Orthodox Judaism, are often overlooked or, even worse, accepted as part of our intrinsic culture. But what if a boy wants to make [...]

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It was the first day of the Spring Semester. Everyone was busy shuffling around in the class I had just entered, looking to take a seat. A friend approached me in nervous panic. “Listen, have you had this teacher before? Do you know if he’s an easy grader or if he gives a lot of [...]

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Late last year, a good friend of mine and former co-worker wrote an article entitled, “An Open Challenge to the Seforim Sale.” Published first by The Beacon and picked up subsequently by the Commentator, the article, which contained multiple inaccuracies and deceptive implications, was initially brought to my attention by multiple students. While I was [...]

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By marking junk food as acceptable for consumption, the OU and other kashrut organizations place before the public a potentially fatal stumbling block. They have an obligation to cancel their approval of junk food. Their failure to do would only reveal that they are more interested in the monetary gains from supervising chocolate factories than [...]

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I was standing in a friend’s house a couple of weeks ago on a shabbos morning, schmoozing with him after a nice homey kiddush. A bunch of people had stopped by, and the conversation came around to one of our mutual friends. Being  the therapist of the bunch, I often get the “I’m concerned about [...]

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Check out my first article on the kippa, Observations of a Malcontent; Declaring Independence in a Religiously Structured Context for the pretext.   Part 2/3 Through my encounters of refusing to wear a kippa people have continued to ask me the same question:  why?  Why pick on the kippa?  Can’t you just wear it around [...]

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In today’s world, attending secular university is becoming easier and easier for the frum Jew. From kosher cafeterias to vibrant Hillel communities, more and more structures are being put in place to allow the average Jew to not only survive, but to thrive at any number of universities. Of course, university life also has a [...]

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In school, shul, and around the Orthodox community, your average Joe– Yosef– can identify two general types of rabbis: The one that tells you to listen to authority, and the one that pats you on the back no matter what you do. The former threatens you with damnation and your failure as a Jew if [...]

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The following article is not an editorial and as such does not reflect the official stance of The Beacon or its editors, but is written to reflect the opinion of the author.  The comments below are being moderated for ad hominem content. As we state in our Mission Statement, “The Beacon has chosen to provide [...]

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If you view religion as something subjective, then with that goes its meaning. When you take G-d out of the equation, there really is nothing to keep someone in one religion over another. Religion becomes simply another lifestyle choice, like sports teams or political affiliation. Someone can think that parents are being hurtful and irresponsible [...]

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“We are hurt by your choices, but we still love you, and we always will.” These were the words my parents said to me after I finally faced my fear of excommunication when I told them I was not religious. The relief was a kind of high which I had never felt before; a catharsis, [...]

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There are two different types of public figures in religious communities. There are leaders—who will face modern issues with each community and determine how the whole religious world should react to such a problem. And there are shepherds—who will mainly use the current status quo to guide each community and make small adjustments as necessary. [...]

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Before I begin, I challenge you to name a living Modern Orthodox Jewish leader. I’m sure this question will get some quizzical reactions; of course we can name particular Modern Orthodox leaders. We can name, say, Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman, the Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence, New York who led an enclave in [...]

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As has been the tradition for years, most American students enter college at the ripe age of 18. In fairly recent times, though, the Orthodox Jewish community has begun to encourage its youth to first spend a year (or two) in the Holy Land before venturing out into the mythologized world of textbooks and wild [...]

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Yeshiva University is unique in that, compared to any other Yeshivah in the world, they let their students get away with a ton. YU does not force anyone to be religious. They don’t kick people out for not keeping Shabbos or touching girls. The basic assumption is that they want these people in a Torah [...]

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GOALS OF OUR POLICY: The University’s policy is designed to insure that recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, and all other personnel actions take place, and all programs involving students, both academic and non-academic, are administered without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran or disabled veteran status, genetic predisposition/carrier status, marital [...]

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