This week’s essay will be the first to deal with some of the latest thoughts and literature regarding the observance of Shavuot. Ohr Ha Tzafon, volume four, Nissan 5776, published by Beis … more

This past Shabbat, my husband Jerry and I were invited to our next door neighbors and good friends, Ely and Suzy Libin, for dessert. Their mechatanim, Claire and Stuie Hershkowitz, happen to be … more

Many years ago, while teaching an adult education class, the topic we were studying was pushing someone’s buttons. We were discussing the underpinnings of the mitzvah of respect for one’s … more

Finally! The Obama Administration has found a way out of its negotiation screw-up that allowed Iran to legally test long-range ballistic missiles. According to the Iranian military, the U.S. solved … more

In its description of the Jubilee year, the Torah tell us in 25:9 that the shofar is to be sounded throughout the land on Yom Kippur of Yovel.  Noting how we don’t blow shofar when Shabbos … more

Sefer Vayikra is the sole book in the Tanach in which the phrase “v’yarata m’elokecha” (“and you shall fear your G-d”) is found. It appears three times in Parashat … more

I want to tell you something about my grandmother, Miriam Harris Goldberg, editor and publisher of the Denver-based Intermountain Jewish News weekly. She turned 100 years old on Wednesday! One … more

In the name of full disclosure let it be noted at the outset that the author of the book under review this week, Yankie Schwartz, was a former student of mine at the Chofetz Chaim High School in … more

“He’s not Hitler. He wants to help America.” Melania Trump’s comment about her husband, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, will go down as one of the more memorable quotes in an election cycle … more

One of the most unusual textual juxtapositions in parasha Emor occurs at the onset of the Torah’s discussion of the mo’adim (festivals) (Vayikra, chapter 23): “And the L-rd spoke to … more