In 1916, in Portsmouth, Virginia, a little boy named Max was born. In two years his family, the Gifters, moved to Baltimore and when little Max was old enough he was sent to receive a full public school education. What was to follow in Max’s, now Mordechai’s, life was the legacy of one of America’s first native born sages who was to help redefine the status of Jewish religious learning both here in the United States and the world. more

Perhaps the most popular tractate of the Talmud among our people is the Mishnah Avot. What is unique to this particular book of the Talmud is that, unlike the other tractates, this one is a book of ethics not law. more

This Wednesday, Nov. 29, marks the 70th anniversary of the passage by the United Nations of Resolution 181, specifying a partition plan that would ultimately lead to the establishment of a Jewish … more

The focus of this week’s essay is “Cardozo on the Parashah: Genesis,” the latest work by the distinguished scholar, Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo. The founder and dean of … more

Rabbi Moshe Sokolow, professor of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University, had this to say about “Meditations at Twilight on Genesis” by Rabbi Melvin Granatstein: “When the … more

Yes, our headline is indeed the title of a new and important d book on a subject that has haunted the Jewish people through the ages. The author, Bari Weiss, is a writer and opinion editor for … more

A time of year that helps teach us why Jerusalem is so important By Alan Jay Gerber Issue of July 10, 2009 / 18 Tammuz 5769 Jerusalem. Just the sound of the word should set off … more

The very word itself, teshuvah, brings to mind the very essence of the element and experience of spiritual return. Teshuvah is the experience of returning, not to the good old days, but rather to a new world experience, one that is G-d centered and ordered. more

This fifth and final tribute to Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, zt"l, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth, on the 16th of Ellul, was penned by my dear neighbor and friend, Rabbi Aryeh … more

Perhaps the two most popular literary works on the Jewish calendar are the Megillah and the Haggadah. Here are two unusual commentaries that pull together ancient pshat and drash in a modern lingo … more