By Dr. Barry Simon The Torah Codes have been much in the news lately because of the flurry of press notice that accompanied the release of Michael Drosnin’s book1 which at one point was on the top ten best sellers list simultaneously in New York, London, Paris and Rome.  I was already contemplating a piece on […]

A steaming pot of cholent first attracted Janusz Legutko to Judaism. Every week for three years, the Polish-born custodian at Congregation Shomrei Torah, one of the largest Orthodox shuls in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, would receive Shabbos treats from Rabbi Benjamin Yudin, the synagogue’s longtime spiritual leader.

Twenty years ago, Doron Witztum discontinued his advanced studies and work in Physics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in order to dedicate himself to full-time Torah study.

The sixteenth day of Kislev, 5707, (November 29, 1947) was a difficult day for the Jewish people. It was the day of the U.N. decision to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, and the old yishuv in Jerusalem was under intermittent bombardment and sniper fire.

It is essential that we address a distressing problem which, unfortunately, is increasing in our community: the defiant and disruptive behavior of some young people. This behavior usually occurs in adolescence, but can sometimes affect even pre-adolescents.

I read with great interest most of the articles about women which appear in Orthodox publications. I have found that, in general, the religious press presupposes that only feminists raise issues for contemporary Yiddishkeit.

Dr. Barry Simon has chosen to question both Codes research and, by implication, Aish HaTorah’s presentation of Codes in their ongoing kiruv rechokim [outreach] efforts. Although the answers to his questions and concerns can be found in Mr. Witztum’s accompanying article and at the Torah Codes web site, there is still a need to clarify a number of other important issues.

As my kids get older, their interest in what to wear for Purim has taken a decidedly odd turn. Long gone are the cute little Haman and Achashverosh outfits that I would piece together the night before the Megillah reading.

Dr. Lee M. Spetner holds a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has had a successful career in both academia (in the United States) and industry (in Israel), working in the fields of signal processing and electronics.

The publication of Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg’s Genesis: The Beginning of Desire was greeted by almost universal acclaim. Readers and reviewers, awed by her reputation as a lecturer, couldn’t help being impressed by her readiness to bring into play an unusually broad array of Jewish sources, from midrash to the classic medieval and modern exegetes to Chassidic and Musar texts, and they were intrigued by the range of her allusions to Western literature and culture.

Say “Logotherapy,” and many people will not know what you are talking about. Say Man’s Search for Meaning and they will say “Yes, I know that book.” Indeed, this book was recently voted one of the ten most influential books of our generation.

Abarbanel points out that the two tablets of the Ten Commandments — which contain five commandments on each tablet — actually complement one another. Thus the first commandment, which is “I am your God”,

Pancho Villa, last words: “Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.”

Every Orthodox community has its “horror stories.” As an individual who has spoken on the subject of family violence in Orthodox communities across the country, what I find most troubling is that all of the hotlines and counseling programs set up in recent years are inundated with requests for service.

The Torah Codes have been much in the news lately because of the flurry of press notice that accompanied the release of Michael Drosnin’s book1 which at one point was on the top ten best sellers list simultaneously in New York, London, Paris and Rome.