Homosexuality is the new Black. Take up the causes and show off to the world just how progressive you are with your pink attire and lambda tattoos. Everyone will think you’re swimming against the tide of homophobia that’s so rampant in a corrupt government. You’ll be just like the news, a champion of justice, a [...]
ReadAs we see in the media all too often, homosexuality is one of the most highly debated social issues of our day. At an age when people begin exploring, questioning, and experimenting with their sexuality, I constantly hear different opinions and views on the topic. Growing up in a Jewish community, I’ve been exposed to [...]
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In the previous segment, we defined just what Orthopraxy was. Now I will explain what led me to that state. I was born in an Orthodox household, in a large Orthodox community in the New York area. My home life was quite stable, without any sort of stress outside of ordinary growing up, and my [...]
ReadFew topics within the Orthodox world are as instantaneously divisive as Chabad. For most, Chabad represents a slightly weird group that does a lot of good by bringing people closer to Judaism. Most people think of them very highly, even if they don’t have so much to do with the group. For many, though, they [...]
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I have a problem with ultra-Orthodox Kiruv. I have a problem with the full-color glossy Kiruv, sold with carefully worded posters, programs, videos, and double standards. I have a problem with the Kiruv that loudly declares that they welcome all Jews, but then denigrates their backgrounds when they think that nobody is listening. That’s the [...]
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When dealing with the topic of Kiruv, there is always a little bit of a double-edged sword. Back in high school, I remember that a Rabbi once described NCSY to me as, “Mekarev HaRechokim Umerachek HaKrovim“: it brings closer those who are far [from Orthodoxy] and pushes away those who are close. While my experiences [...]
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It was spring semester for the Yeshivot in Israel. The Ohr Sameach in Jerusalem had just been donated a full set of Artscroll Talmud. Many students cooed at the freshly printed books lining what was formerly a completely barren shelf. Only a handful dared touch the sacred tomes. Some days they simply sat there, gathering [...]
Read“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9). Man is born. Man dies. The world takes its natural course and nothing new occurs. If Solomon is correct in this dictum, then how can miracles be possible? [...]
ReadGod commands mankind to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and conquer it, and have dominion over the entire animal kingdom (Genesis 1:28). We listened to God. The world population is now seven billion people and growing. How long do men and women need to continue growing as a species in order to fulfill [...]
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Jewish education in America is facing a crisis. Ever since the economic meltdown in 2008, publication after publication, from venerable weekly newspaper to personal blog, has declared that the sky is falling and day school tuition has reached the point of unaffordability for the average Jewish family. Jewish communities across America are finally doing some [...]
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