Author: Rabbi Akiva Males

Never before had I held the power to bestow honor on others—or myself.

With the number of Jews opting for cremation unfortunately on the rise, one never knows when he or she might be able to help another Jew choose a traditional Jewish burial over cremation. Do you know a Jew who is considering cremation? If so, here is an uncomplicated approach that might succeed in changing someone’s mind.

In addition, an important responsa by Rabbi Chaim Sofer14 addresses the Ashkenazic custom of decorating synagogue arks with sculpted lions. Rabbi Sofer prefaces his halachic opinion with a powerful statement:

“Hi Rabbi, while we’re Orthodox, our cousins belong to the Reform Temple in your neighborhood. They’ll be celebrating their son’s bar mitzvah in a few months. Would a family in your shul be willing to host my wife and me so we can stop in and wish our cousins mazal tov?” “Hi Rabbi, I was […]

“Rabbi, we received a letter from a Jewish inmate who’s worried that his blanket contains both wool and linen. What on Earth is he talking about?” As a pulpit rabbi in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, most of my appointments involve shul matters. However, one of my scheduled meetings is completely different. On the last Tuesday of each […]

The disappearance of a Jewish community in a small mining town in Pennsylvania sheds light on the disappearance of many other small Jewish communities that once dotted the American landscape.