The fierce debate between Rep. Michelle Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry over using executive power to require young girls to be vaccinated against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) raises a very interesting question for all Americans to ponder. If state and federal governments use their power—not to mention the law—to intervene in public health related issues, is that a “violation of liberty interest” as Bachmann called it or do we view it as a necessary measure that would be considered public good? more

Dear Aviva, My husband and I are in our late seventies and are proud grandparents. Our first grandchild just became engaged to a lovely young man. They are planning on marrying in Israel in a few months. I cannot attend, since I am responsible for taking my husband to dialysis and caring for him. Our children or grandchildren help out the few times that I am not able to take him, but all of our family will be at the wedding and I do not feel that it would be right to leave him with someone who is unfamiliar with his situation. I have been dreaming of my granddaughter’s wedding from the time that she was a very young child and cannot come to terms with this concept of not attending. more

Rabbi Shlomo of Kartin said: “If you want to raise a man from mud and filth, do not think it is enough to keep standing on top and reaching down to him a helping hand. You must go all the way down yourself, down into mud and filth. Then take hold of him with strong hands, and pull him and yourself out into the light.” more

The Tower of Babel story teaches many lessons. Arguably the most blatant problem in the story is that the goal of the people involved was to “make for ourselves a name.” (Bereishit 11:4) more

“If you don’t support Barack Obama, shut the heck up!” That appears to be the message of the leading secular Jewish organizations, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in a joint statement released on Tuesday asking Jews not to make Israel a political Issue more

Letters to the Editor more

How do individuals appearing committed to Torah learning and tradition, find justification to firebomb a private residence in New Square, smash bookstore windows in Jerusalem, and vandalize a girls’ yeshiva in Ramat Beit Shemesh? In a recent Ami Magazine interview, former Edah HaCharedit spokesman Rabbi Shmuel Pappenheim, described these zealots as inspired by Pinchas, the biblical hero who massacred a Jewish prince for having an affair with a gentile woman. The sages praised his act, in restoring honor to the nation. more

Nearly all civilizations and cultures have been focused upon the importance of time. We Jews are no exception to this well-nigh universal rule. By way of example, one need only cite the famous words of King Solomon as presented in the third chapter of his masterful examination of the human spirit known as Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). more

I can still see his eyes and his twinkling smile as I walked him to the bus, with his rucksack over his back and a pair of ‘kafkafim’ (shower shoes) tied on and dangling from a piece of string. more

In the context of a discussion about what materials could be used for building a sukkah, the Gemara Sukkah (11b) raises a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva regarding of what material the original sukkah G-d described in Vayikra 23:43 was made. The verse says “[You will sit in the sukkah because] I had the Israelites live in huts (sukkahs) when I brought them out of Egypt.” more