Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government ignited a domestic firestorm with the legislative proposal by Justice Minister Yariv Levin to “overhaul” Israel’s judiciary and empower the Knesset to override a Supreme Court decision invalidating duly enacted legislation. Protests have erupted on the streets of Tel Aviv, and

The term “status quo” simply refers to the current state of affairs, in any situation. It’s not automatically right or wrong, good or bad. But in recent weeks, the term has been weaponized as the primary argument against Jews having access to their holiest site, the Temple Mount.

It was not so long ago that a widely admired, twice-elected

When Israelis see Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas paying the families of terrorists who murder or wound Jews, why should it be a surprise that many Israelis vote for “hardline” candidates? And when Israelis see Abbas and his associates inciting violence against them, why should anyone be astonished that many

First it was a failed vetting process for lieutenant governor when Governor Kathy Hochul chose then-Senator Brian Benjamin to be her No. 2 in the administration on September 9, 2021. Seven months later, Benjamin was forced to resign on April 12, 2022 after having been indicted earlier that day on federal

The American writer Bruce Feiler recently published a best-selling book entitled “The Secrets of Happy Families.” It’s an engaging work that uses research largely drawn from fields like team-building, problem-solving and conflict resolution, showing how management techniques can be used at home also to help make families

A Talmid’s Dilemma

Torah Academy of Bergen County’s talmid, Jacob Horn, asked how one should handle portions of the Torah which appear to not be in harmony with one’s sense of morality. Jacob wondered whether we should just submit to Hashem’s will and disregard our sense of right

Editor’s note: This series is reprinted with permission from “Insights & Attitudes: Torah Essays on Fundamental Halachic and Hashkafic Issues,” a publication of TorahWeb.org. The book contains multiple articles, organized by parsha, by Rabbi Hershel Schachter and Rabbi Mayer Twersky.

Jews came from far and wide to the modest Bnei Brak apartment of Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, zt”l, the Steipler Gaon, to consult and discuss Torah topics, and seek the blessings and advice of the one of the generation’s great sages and poskim, guides in Halacha. The renowned author of the multi-volume Kehillos Yaakov on the

What is Nazir doing in seder Nashim? The Talmudic Narrator opens the tractate by asking this curious question. מִכְּדֵי תַּנָּא בְּסֵדֶר נָשִׁים קָאֵי, מַאי טַעְמָא תָּנֵי נָזִיר? If the tanna of our Mishnah was working within the order of Nashim, women,

A friend of mine always eats dessert after Birkat Hamazon in order to avoid questions about whether he should make a bracha on dessert. Is that appropriate?

The practice of having dessert after Birkat Hamazon has various consequences. It can create a bracha rishonah in cases that do not warrant

בֶּן הֵא הֵא אוֹמֵר, לְפוּם צַעֲרָא אגרא: (אבות ה:כג)

Last week, we saw how Ben Hei Hei links the agra (reward) received for mitzvah fulfillment to the tza’ar—the effort and pain—involved. The obvious question is why this linkage exists. Why is the reward

We easily see in others, and with difficulty see in ourselves, how mistakes are repeated and obvious lessons ignored. We know it is critical for us to learn from experience and yet sadly, we—as individuals and as a society—often fail to do so. How do we change this pattern?

The greatest