Many years ago at a parlor meeting of the coalition for the Israeli soldiers missing in action, someone spoke about a close friend with whom he had both studied and gone to war: Yehuda Katz. Along … more

We should not be surprised by the similarities between Judaism and the surrounding cultures, one of my professors, Rabbi Menachem M. Brayer, PhD zatzal, once noted. After all, they were in the same … more

Shortly after his election as Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel in the early 1970s, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef visited New York City and spent Yom Ha’Atzma’ut here. He gave a shiur for rabbis, at … more

While much of the first part of Parshat Emor speaks of rules of the Kohanim, there is a greater theme in the Torah portion on the periphery to being a Kohen, and it has to do with the desecration of … more

It is hard to describe what it takes to be a combat infantry soldier in the Israeli army, but those who succeed in the elite Golani brigade are few and far between. To be chosen from amongst them to … more

The calendar this year aligned to have rosh chodesh at the beginning of the week, and the celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday — Yom Ha’Atzma’ut — in the same week. … more

Our parshiot, Tazria and Metzora, focus on the halachot of tumah and taharah (the Laws of ritual purity and impurity), some of the most complex subjects in the Torah. An entire section of the Mishnah … more

A story is told of the great Hassidic master, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev. He had been visiting a town and attended prayer services in the local synagogue. One day, he stopped at the … more

Parashat Kedoshim’s verse, “And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, “You shall be holy (kedoshim), … more

There is a little known test that officer cadets undergo in one form or another during Infantry Officer’s training that they almost always fail, which is precisely the point. It takes many … more