As we enter Adar I, with Purim five weeks away, I’m pleased to present   excerpts from an online interview with Dr. Erica Brown, author of “Esther: Power, Fate, and Fragility in … more

Throughout history, heads of state have served as the personification of their people and their civilizations. For some, their legacy was to be one of cruelty, for others of plunder and ruin. … more

In an essay titled “Double Adar,” Rabbi Berel Wein writes that “there is an underlying value that the month of Adar possesses that no other month in the Jewish calendar can lay … more

Next Thursday, Jan. 25, in the midst of winter, we celebrate Tu B’Shvat, the beginning of spring — albeit a spiritual spring — on the Jewish calendar. This week I will present … more

At over 1,000 pages, “A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad” (Random House, 2010) does not lend itself to a quick read. Nevertheless, due to this large … more

Rabbi Berel Wein, in his introduction to a translation of the Kli Yakar by his friend, Elihu Levine, said in regard to the art of translation: “To be truly faithful to the original, the … more

It is not unusual for a book’s title to include a year. 1776 and 1912 are among my favorites. They resonate deep meaning and so does the year 1492. “1492,” subtitled … more

This week’s column is focused on the teachings of Rav Shalom Noach Berezovsky zt’’l, the Slonimer Rebbe, in translation and interpretation by Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein in his … more

Rabbi Aryeh Pinchas Strickoff, author of “Inside Chanukah: Fascinating and Intriguing Insights on Chanukah, Its Miracles, and its History” (Feldheim 2012) perhaps said it best in his … more