It is Friday night in Venice’s Ghetto Vecchio. I am seated in the women’s section of the Scola Spagnola, one of the most beautiful synagogues of Europe. It is packed. The women, hair covered in everything from traditional […]
Something is terribly broken in the relationship between American and Israeli Jews. I say this as an American Jew who has lived in Israel for almost half a century. But if anyone thinks this started with Women of […]
I found myself at the Kotel, or Western Wall, yesterday. Even though I live within walking distance of this profoundly moving site, the holiest in all Judaism, I don’t actually go very often. But a Bar Mitzvah invitation from […]
I was watching another one of Pat Condell’s marvelous rants on YouTube when by chance I came across this stunning video created by an ex-Muslim who grew up in the Middle East and attended Islamic schools. Her explanation of […]
Some of you might have heard about the cult pretending to be devout Jews called “Lev Tahor,” wanted all over the world for child abuse and forcing underage girls into marriages with much older men. The prestigious magazine Foreign Policy has published an […]
Dear Friends,You are all cordially invited to join me for a book reception at 10:30 AM on Sunday on 8 November 2015 at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun at 125 E 85th Street in Manhattan. The event will take place under the auspices […]
What happens when rabbis prey on people’s need for holiness? The wave broke slowly. First, one woman from a close-knit National Religious community in Safed approached the town’s chief rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu, son of Israel’s former Sephardic chief […]
All he wanted was to see women naked. Lots of men are like that. Hence the tsunami of internet porn. The difference is, he was a Rabbi, and instead of watching anonymous women who enjoy showing off their […]
My son brought the kids over today. While I was still furiously attacking the chametz (bread crumbs for the uninitiated, which are the foe of every devout Jewish housewife this time of year), I am always thrilled to […]