Author: JA Staff

Why should a male who is in a wheelchair not get an aliyah to the Torah?

In celebration of America’s Semiquincentennial—the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—it is fitting to pause and reflect on the American Jewish experience, and specifically the Orthodox Jewish experience.

Jewish Action Editor-in-Chief Nechama Carmel spoke with Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, the OU’s managing director of Community Engagement, about American individualism, rising antisemitism and the hidden cost of freedom.

From twenty-three Jewish refugees arriving in New Amsterdam in 1654 to the establishment of OU Kosher in 1923

The Costs That Crush; Glimpses of Change; In the Age of AI

Mesorat Menachem: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Rabbi Menachem Genack (2 volumes)

How will AI shape our lives and the lives of our children? 

Excerpted from the 18Forty and American Security Foundation summit with Dr. Moshe Koppel, Dr. Malka Simkovich, Tikvah Wiener and Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin 

How schools are putting AI to work in the classroom 

Why beer—and other foods you’d never suspect—requires kosher certification

Aggadot HaRav: The Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Aggadah, Stephen Neuwirth Edition

Weighing In On Ozempic, Where the German Custom Comes From, Feeling the Financial Strain

Jewish jokesters, Eli Lebowicz and the Goldgrab brothers behind The Frum Side comics, answer thought-provoking questions about their work.

In the pages that follow, we offer reflections from colleagues and friends who knew Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l, best.

A selection of excerpts from the condolence letters received for Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l

A photo essay showcasing the legacy of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l.

To mark the milestone of Jewish Action’s fortieth anniversary, we turn back to the 1980s and trace the history of the magazine and the arc of four decades of change.

A timeline tracing Jewish Action through the last four decades

In this wide-ranging symposium, we asked writers and thinkers to reflect on the religious, cultural and communal shifts they’ve witnessed in over the last four decades.

From sugar-coated tablets to gelatin capsules—when do medications and vitamins need kosher certification?

The Concise Code of Jewish Law: A Guide to Daily Prayer and Religious Observance (Revised Edition) 

Jews in the South, The True Path to Success, The Chazzan’s Role, Building Communities from the Ground Up

A collection of inspiration from Rabbi Hauer on the theme of gratitude

Over the past two years, the frum world has begun turning to the arts to process the aftermath of the bloody Hamas attacks.

What does it take to build a community? In the articles ahead, we meet some of the men and women whose steady efforts have shaped the rhythm of Jewish life in their cities.

How OU Israel’s Teen Center is changing young lives in Ariel

“We want to let our students feel a part of the Israeli melody.”

What do you need to build a community?

HaHashgachah KeHilchatah: Shorshei HaKashrut HaTzibburit (Kosher Certification According to Halachah: The Foundations of Communal Kashrut) by Rabbi Peretz Moncharsh

Taking a Stand Against Phones in Schools, Remembering Tobie and Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Dealing with Dementia, The Human Side of the Disengagement, The Great Z’manim Debate: Rabbi Ahron Notis Responds