Our preoccupation as individuals, as an organization and as a community should be identifying what we can do better to ensure that our own connection to Judaism is compelling and enduring, that we will successfully transmit it to our children and students, and that we are able to effectively introduce and welcome others to Torah and to the Orthodox community.
We do not have reliable numbers with which to measure the relative strength of this trend, but it is there, it is a threat, and it can and must be addressed in ways that will uplift us all.
When we are so internally rancorous, we can hardly complain about the antisemitism that surrounds us.
Tishah B’Av is a day when we mourn the range of tragedies that have marked Jewish history, beginning with the destruction of both Batei Mikdash. Many of these calamities from throughout the ages are represented in the book of Tishah B’Av kinot that we read in our shuls. While we are generally extremely cautious about […]
When any Jew anywhere is threatened, it should feel like someone has poked us in the eye.
It is in Israel that we regularly encounter among the masses—halachically observant or not—emunah peshutah, a pure and simple faith in a loving G-d Whose supportive presence ensures that we are not facing our challenges alone.
The Jews’ strategy for success in battle is simply this: We fight for each other and not with each other.
At this time of Orthodox growth, we need to facilitate the vision, the chazon, where the Orthodox community is perceived not as a threat but as a growing resource of passionately committed Jews who prioritize both their Judaism and their absolute and unconditional love for each and every other Jew.
It appears that G-d’s interim solution to the challenge of assimilation . . . was the creation of the Jewish State.
How can we shift our Jewish practices from default approach to an engaging and inspiring experience?
This beautiful and all-important emphasis on family is also the source of numerous challenges and vulnerabilities for the many individuals who are not living within such a household.
Rav Chaim’s value system is not reserved for Rechov Rashbam . . . it can be ours too.
Focusing on our rights as well as on our responsibilities allows us to move beyond the parochial while uplifting the advocacy for our own needs too.
Today, Torah study is not just a mitzvah, it is a growing movement, and the OU is privileged to be a partner of all those propelling that movement.
There is no thrill like giving, like making a difference to others.
The dramatic birthrates show a robust community, which, baruch Hashem, is true in the aggregate. But that growth hides a level of attrition, which is the subject of much concern and is visible in studies of all US Jews.
Do we think big enough?
How to respond to tragedy
Continuity cannot be built on communal values alone, it requires relationship.
We must never accept loss with hopelessness or resignation.
Organized Jewish life strives for greater unity amongst Jews and more passionate engagement. But can passion and unity coexist?