By Dr. Robin B. Zeiger All of us struggle with a life crisis of one sort or another.  During these painful times, some of us distance ourselves from God and Torah, while others attempt to rise and meet the challenge. A frank discussion of spirituality and infertility must emerge from the heart as well […]

By Rabbi Moshe Weinberger Does having “all the right colors and forms” ensure a spiritual Jewish life?  In the spring of 1929, at the age of 40 and at the height of his powers, the fiery tzaddik, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piasecna (in Poland) penned the following words:      What can I take upon […]

If Microsoft keeps to its promised ship date, you should be reading this shortly after the release of Windows 95. This is such a watershed event that I’m going to go beyond the usual scope of this column to spend much of it on this new OS. I’ll then discuss a few miscellaneous pieces of Judaic software that have recently crossed my desk.

That Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, was relatively unknown to the general Israeli public — the secular press was astounded by the attendance of a quarter of a million people at his funeral — was largely to his credit. The ignorance derived, in essence, from his studied lifelong avoidance of the confrontational arena.

Across the street, near the Kiryat Arba bus stop, two people sit companionably on a stone park bench. The bearded poet leans back in loosely-sweatered contentment. The youngster beside him is lithely bent double, her dark curly-haired head resting on her corduroy-covered knees. Her face is turned to catch the soft sunlight. It’s half-past three and the healing rays soak up the exhaustion from her tired shoulders.

Israel has always been a country known for its religious, ethnic and political diversity, with 4 million Israelis represented in elections by as many as 29 parties. This diversity has been more of a blessing than a curse for the past 47 years; it has led to a rich mix of societal attitudes and cultural syntheses. It is part of the reason that Israel is never boring.

We often assume that the residents in nursing homes wait for death, but I have found that they can give new life and understanding to those who visit them.
Sarah was in a wheelchair, smiling beguilingly at me. Her soft gray hair was carefully styled and her eyes twinkled with anticipation and intelligent curiosity.

Although Torah Judaism has its ultimate roots in early antiquity, this does not imply that discoveries from ancient times will necessarily engage the attention of traditional Jews. In fact, sometimes it seems that the opposite is the case.