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Qitniyoth – a Qaraite Custom?

Most people know that Ashkenazi Jews do not eat Qitniyoth – rice, millet, lentils, beans, corn and legumes – during Passover. Few…

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Al-HaNissim for Yom Ha’Assmauth

The Talmud (Pesahim 117a) informs us that the Hallel prayer “was instituted by the Prophets to be said by the Jewish People…

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Nusah Erets Yisrael

By Rav Bar-Hayim The Origins of the Siddur 2,500 years ago, after having been driven into exile by the Babylonian emperor Nevukhadnessar,…

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Going Nowhere Fast

Israel is lost and directionless. Its political leaders lack vision and aspire to nothing. Judaism is lost and directionless. Its rabbinical leaders…

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Think Big

Revisionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky once illustrated his criticism of mainstream Zionism with the following analogy: “I saw a man limping down the…

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Cheeseburgers and the Bet HaMiqdash

A student of mine recently sent me a link to a passionate discussion about the propriety of eating kosher cheeseburgers. The arguments…

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Rosh HaShanna – A Holiday in Transition

Rosh HaShanna is currently celebrated throughout the world for two consecutive days, but has this always been the case? According to Rabbi…

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One Nation or Many Communities?

“Do you know the song “Am Yisrael Hai”? Of course you do. We have all sung it many times. Nevertheless, it does…

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Crisis in Blue

When, as a teenager, my father used to tell me that he did not like me wearing jeans, I usually asked: “Why…

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Hannukah — Getting the Point

Why do we Jews celebrate Hannukah? What’s it all about? Many of us tend to concentrate on Questions such as whether to…

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