The Kosher Bookworm By Alan Jay Gerber Issue of December 11, 2009/ 24 Kislev 5770 A few months prior to the recent elections a book appeared titled, “Why Are Jews Liberals?” by … more

The Kosher Bookworm by Alan Jay Gerber July 2, 2010/ 20 Tammuz, 5770 With the recent verdict in the Rubashkin case, trials are yet again big news among Jews. However, trials are nothing new … more

This past month marked in Woodmere what has now become, over the past decade and a half, an annual yahrzeit commemorative, a Hilula, conducted by Rabbi Moshe Weinberger in memory of the sainted … more

We call it yichus — the legacy of generations of the past. Rabbis, scholars, talmidei chachamim, community leaders who were ancestors to those we now look up to. All the above, Rabbi Shlomo … more

It was not until the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, that the importance of Rashi’s commentary in Chabad theology became apparent to the outside world. more

Among the classic writings concerning Jewish liturgy are two works from Chabad — an English translation of their prayer book, “Siddur Tehillat Hashem,” by Rabbi Nissen Mangel, and the classic detailed commentary and exposition of Jewish liturgy by Rabbi Dr. Nissan Mindel, zt”l, entitled, “My Prayer,” first published in 1972 and recently reissued by Kehot in a two volume revised edition. “My Prayer,” reflecting scholarship drawn from the works of Maimonides and Chasidic masters, presents a deeper meaning of the prayers and a comprehensive understanding of the moral and ethical teachings contained therein. more

In a recent essay Rabbi Daniel Rose wrote the following that will serve as the keynote to this week’s essay: “These days of Purim,” the Book of Esther says, “should be remembered and celebrated.” On the Shabbos before Purim, we read about the Torah’s instructions that we never forget the cowardly attacks of Amalek, the primordial nemesis of the Jewish people. “Remember,”…..This Shabbat is called Shabbat Zachor – the Shabbat of remembering. more

Recently, a new book was published with a curious title, “The People In Between,” by Robert Marx of Chicago’s Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. This interesting work, brought to … more

Of all of the books that comprise the Holy Bible of the Jewish people, the Psalms — Tehillim — is among the most venerated. This can be seen inasmuch as there are more varied … more

In the twentieth century, Jewish Orthodoxy experienced a golden age of leaders and teachers who sought to bridge the world of Torah and that of the West. Some of these Torah figures were deeply … more