History does not look too kindly on George Wallace.

In recent films, like Selma, he is portrayed as a villain. His history of losing presidential races earned him the nickname “the most influential loser” in American politics.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell,

I am writing in response to your recent editorial, “RCBC Draws Boundary Line on Women Rabbis” (February 6, 2019). In her presentation of the issues surrounding the by-law recently passed by the RCBC with respect to Cong. Netivot Shalom, Elizabeth Kratz, despite what I am sure were good intentions, misses the point.

This is not an endorsement of female clergy. (“RCBC Draws ‘Boundary Line’ on Women Rabbis,” February 6, 2019.) Reasonable minds can differ about that. This is about: (i) Not restricting rabbinic authority and autonomy. Rabbis should decide what happens within their own shuls; they were selected by their

It is unfortunate that the RCBC has come under attack for taking a principled position (“RCBC Draws ‘Boundary Line’ on Women Rabbis,” February 6, 2019). Every organization has its red lines. The OU, the RCA and the RCBC have their own red lines. So does the IRF.

The headline on this JNS article is “Sen. Cory Booker Has Mixed Record on Israel” (February 7, 2019).

Mixed? Really?

Let’s look at the record. Just in the article alone it says: Booker

Modern Orthodoxy is hard to understand and harder to live. Orthodoxy is a set of views and behaviors that is governed by precedent and authority. It is most comfortable with stasis. Change irritates the system, and especially change that is based on what best can be described as modern sensibilities. In contradistinction,

As February is Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month, it was particularly special to read the beautiful and inspiring letter to the editor, “A Super Sunday” (February 7, 2019). In that letter, the parents of a child with special needs described the feelings, benefits and emotions of having their son invited by his peers to

In Rabbi Daniel Alter’s article (“Common-Sense School Calendars: Yeshiva Break,” January 31, 2019), he proposes the idea that yeshiva break should always coincide with Martin Luther King (MLK) Day, as opposed to sometimes yes and other times not. He makes a convincing argument by talking about three scenarios: 1)

To me, this whole Netivot Shalom/women clergy brouhaha (“RCBC Draws ‘Boundary Line’ on Women Rabbis,” February 6, 2019) is a classic “Slighty’s tree” scenario. You’ll recall that Peter Pan had always told the Lost Boys that they must limit their own girth to fit into the trees that led to their hideout,

Another day and a new slew of articles on the web, in the media or on blogs decrying the “occupation of Judea and Samaria” by Israel. It is always amazing to note that the authors for the most part are young people of Jewish ancestry, liberal millennials, or ignorant of vicious anti-Semitism.

It does

On behalf of the RCBC and all of its members, I sincerely hope that Rabbi Helfgot will remain a member of the RCBC.  Rabbi Helfgot is a close friend to me and to many of our rabbinic colleagues, and he has contributed a great deal of religious leadership to our community over the past decades. It should go without saying that we categorically reject any and all of

The RCBC has, for many decades, served as an umbrella organization of Orthodox rabbis that has helped establish and develop the physical and spiritual infrastructure and helped foster the communal well-being of the burgeoning observant community in Bergen County. The council has always had a wide diversity of rabbis who represent the big