A version of this column was published in 2008. With the economic situation deteriorating each day, anything dealing with the history of past economic disasters is bound to peak our interest. … more

Imagine that you live in a country that has just elected Adolf Hitler as its head of state. Your name is Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, rabbi, and a leading authority on Jewish law who is revered by many for your wisdom, knowledge and compassion. more

With the world swirling around us with the turmoil of violence and murder, all at the behest of governments and their terrorist surrogates, it behooves us to take a close look at the biblical saga of the Tower of Babel and its role, in antiquity, as the harbinger of the totalitarian rule that has become commonplace today. This week’s essay will be devoted to reviewing several works that deal with this theme from our religious perspective. more

With Pesach just around the corner, we conclude this year’s review of what’s new to read for this most glorious of all festivals. more

In this week's Torah portion, we read about about G-d's instruction to Moshe to have the soon-to-be-freed Jews ask of their taskmasters, "Please, speak into the ears of the People, and let them … more

The Kosher Bookworm by Alan Jay Gerber Issue of December 4, 2009/ 17 Kislev 5770 This week I will focus upon literary works that deal with themes and personalities both Biblical and … more

Rabbi Chaim ben Moshe Attar, the legendary Or Hachaim, author of the famed Chumash commentary of the same title, was born in Sale, in the western part of Morocco, in 1696. Sale’s role in Jewish … more

No book so completely unites the dispersed people of Israel. If any single volume can tell us what it means to be a Jew, it is the Siddur which embodies the visions and aspirations, the sorrows and joys of many generations … more

From the book “The Koren Machzor for Yom HaAtzma’ut and Yom Yerushlayim,” edited by Rabbi Reuven Ziegler, we will see an example of poetry as a motivating force for Jewish … more

The name and history of the Aish Kodesh in our community is well known. This legacy from the tragedy of the Warsaw Ghetto of one of its towering leaders, Rebbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira, the Aish … more