There is a strange little village alongside one of Israel’s borders that I came across on one of my reserve duty stints. Without detailing, for obvious reasons, its location, it was a curious place because I could not figure out how on earth it came to be in such a strange place. Any history buff who studies anthropology readily discovers that there are always historical, geographical and often economic reasons that will explain the nature of a city’s location and growth, and whenever I was on reserve duty in different corners of Israel, I always enjoyed my own secret game of sleuth, trying to uncover the mystery of how local villages came to be situated wherever they were. more

In his short time in the Knesset, Maryland expatriate, Ner Yisrael rav and now member of Knesset Dov Lipman has sought to unite the disparate elements of Israeli society, integrate the Charedim, increase positive views of Israel around the world and appears to back a more left wing view regarding relations with the Arabs. “This is definitely the only office (in the Knesset) with baseballs,” he told The Jewish Week during a wide-ranging interview in Jerusalem, nodding to the two balls on his bookshelves signed by Ernie Banks and Boog Powell. more

More than 100 volunteers converged Sunday on the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett to stuff backpacks for children in need. Participating in an event organized by Supplies for Success, children, parents and grandparents came from Brooklyn, Manhattan and West Hempstead, as well as from the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. more

It was the month of Elul, and the Ba`al Shem Tov hesitated before the evening prayers. He had a serious look on his face. His Chasidim patiently waited for him to begin. When he finally smiled, and the prayers were recited, he turned to his congregation and explained the reason for the delay. more

For as far back as I can remember, I have heard rabbis and community leaders utilize such catch phrases in public lectures as “We must stem the tide of assimilation!” and “Intermarriage rates are skyrocketing!” more

Somewhere between the flashes of wealth, prideful professions of parental dependency, Jewish cultural caricatures and frequent debauchery, acrimony and hysteria, a picture of young Jewish women on Long Island emerges on “Princesses Long Island,” the Bravo TV show that debuted on June 2, and it isn’t flattering. more

It must be August, because everyone is off on their last hurrah vacation trips before the kids come home from camp and the Yomim Tovim start. This past Shabbat, my husband Jerry regaled us with his travel plans that took place in 1975 during the summer after his sophomore year at YU. more

Jews in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city, are concerned over an increasing number of anti-Semitic incidents, many perpetuated by “young men with roots in the Middle East,” said Jehoshua Kaufman, a member of the city’s Jewish congregation. more

This week we celebrate Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of Elul, the month that leads up to Rosh Hashanah. In four weeks we will stand before G-d in judgment, and we will ask for a good year. One of the central prayers of the day makes abundantly clear the fact that on this day, at the beginning of the New Year, our fate is determined: “Who will live and who will die? Who in their time, and who in an untimely (young?) manner? Who (will die this year) by fire and who by water? … Like the shepherd whose flock pass beneath His staff, (G-d) passes His sheep (us) beneath his rod (club?)…” more