There are many high quality commentaries and translations on the Book of Exodus. Here are two that deserve your attention. “Redeeming Relevance In The Book Of Exodus” (Urim … more

Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a progressive condition that gradually destroys one’s memory, communication, … more

Not being ‘cross’ By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Sept. 12, 2008 Chapter 22 has a unique list of seemingly random commandments: You may not forego returning a lost object you come … more

The Kosher Bookworm by Alan Jay Gerber Issue of January 22, 2010/ 7 Shvat 5770 As in past years, a number of high quality new commentaries and translations are newly available on the Book of … more

The Kosher Bookworm by Alan Jay Gerber Issue of August 27, 2010/ 17 Elul 5770 Imagine: Selicot before Labor Day. This is what we will be experiencing this year. School begins earlier this … more

Just weeks after a vicious tornado destroyed many rural areas in Alabama, a team of eight high school girls, from the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls (SKA) and from the Hebrew Academy of the … more

More than what he was saying, it was his face that caught my attention. Flicking on the television absent-mindedly as I was getting dressed for a wedding, I came across the middle of a program on what, after a moment, I realized was a story from the Second Lebanon War. more

Let’s get this straight - the summer isn’t over yet, not today nor tomorrow. It doesn’t end when the kids return home from camp or when you begin back to school shopping. It doesn’t stop with school orientations or Rosh Hashanah preparations. more

Our underlined phrase, “you shall judge your fellow with righteousness,” is found in the second of the two parshiot we read this Shabbat. As noted in Talmud Bavli, Shevuot 30a, one of the interpretations of this expression is the obligation to judge our fellow Jews in a favorable fashion: “Our Rabbis taught: ‘You shall judge your fellow with righteousness’ - judge your neighbor to the side of merit (Hevay dan et chaverchah l’kaf zechut).” more

Remember when buying a cup of coffee meant … buying a cup of coffee. Sure you had a choice of what type, regular or decaf; skim or regular milk; sugar or sugar substitute, and hot or iced. Then came the flavored coffee creamers, followed by flavored coffees. You could have made it at home, or bought it at a luncheonette, candy shop or coffee shop, which was basically a mini restaurant that served breakfast and lunch along with coffee. Today, coffee is no longer just coffee. more