I am often asked by talmidim on Sunday morning, “Rebbi, how was your Shabbos?”

Many years ago, I heard a story about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who was famous for taking advantage of every opportunity to represent the Jewish people to the Almighty in a positive light. I don’t recall the source of the story, and I do not presume to vouch for its veracity.

  MISCONCEPTION: According to ancient tradition, Eliyahu HaNavi makes a furtive appearance at every Pesach Seder. FACT: There is no classical (Talmudic or midrashic) source stating that Eliyahu pays a visit to the Seder every year. Most sources refer only to an eschatological appearance at the End of Days, that is, Eliyahu’s arrival to announce […]

Tired of potatoes? Preparing side dishes for Passover can be somewhat of a challenge. No pasta or rice, no bulgur, couscous or kasha, no beans or legumes—no problem! If you’re hungry for new ideas and are looking for something different to serve for Passover this year as a side dish, there’s a whole world of […]

Q: With conflicting information about alcohol—it’s healthy, it’s harmful—I’m nervous about drinking the arba kosot on Seder night. Can you clarify whether it’s safe to drink and tell me how much is too much? A:  It’s no wonder you’re confused—alcohol really is a double-edged sword. Alcohol has been used safely for thousands of years; however, […]

I was dreaming . . . If only I had an opportunity to think, really just sit and think, without the pressing weight of obligations; If only I had the ability to put out of my mind, really empty it, of financial and business concerns; If only I could spend some time with my family […]

The Elephant in the Room: Torah, Wisdom & Inspiration for Life By Rabbi Ron Yitzchok Eisenman Mosaica Press, Inc., 2012 185 pages Reviewed by Yael Wedeck I’m finding it harder to be inspired in my forties than I did in my twenties. Somehow, exploring life’s endless possibilities and grappling with textual and philosophical questions has […]

Jewish Action posed a number of questions to leading rabbis and mental-health professionals about the various challenges facing the contemporary Orthodox family. Contributors were asked to select one or two questions of their choice to respond to. This accounts for the unevenness of the responses. Many of the contributors chose to answer the question on […]

Be Pro-active. Set up a schedule and plan ahead for the week and weekends so that the kids have time for supper and homework and still get to bed on time. Prepare clothes, lunch and snacks the night before so that the mornings will go smoothly. Teach your older children to do this for themselves. […]

The Best Is Yet to Be: Women Share Their Midlife Challenges and Triumphs Edited By Miriam Lieberman Targum Press Brooklyn, 2011 447 pages Reviewed by Sarah Shapiro It has often been said that people read in order not to feel alone, and I found myself initially skimming through this book’s chapters in search of situations […]

In today’s increasingly unpredictable economic times, more and more frum Jews are following their passions and choosing unconventional careers, finding that sometimes it pays to think outside the box. Dr. Ben Kempner, Sir! Frum Physician Goes Navy Navy Lieutenant Ben Kempner, thirty-two, wrestles with being a yarmulke-wearing, kosher-eating anomaly at work and a uniformed attraction […]

Jewish Week reporter Steve Lipman sent more than a few shockwaves through the Orthodox world with his recent article on texting on Shabbos by teenagers educated in Orthodox institutions. He reported on a Shabbaton at which fourteen of the seventeen teenagers present were texting one another. So common is the phenomenon that it even has […]

Rabbi Chanan Porat, circa 1988. Photo: Sa’ar Ya’acov/Israel Government Press Office  “A ‘Sabbath Jew’ he was—not because he showed his Jewishness once a week, but because his entire life was one of Sabbath: serenity, sanctity, and joy.” So said Rabbi Chanan Porat’s daughter at her father’s funeral, held in Kfar Etzion during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah […]

By Cheryl and Mark Schreck The authors of this article, both of whom are divorce lawyers, describe what they observe in their practice. However, it is important to bear in mind that obviously the clientele of divorce lawyers is not a fair sample of the entire community. Their report, while disturbing and certainly true of […]

It is difficult to describe a faith crisis to someone who has never experienced one.

We’re Missing the Point: What’s Wrong with the Orthodox Jewish Community and How to Fix It By Gidon Rothstein OU Press Between the Lines of the Bible: Exodus A Study From the New School of Orthodox Torah Commentary By Yitzchak Etshalom OU Press, Urim Publications Both of these books deal with the theme of redressing […]

By Joel M. Schreiber Sheldon “Shelly” Rudoff, a”h, 1933-2011 In a famous scene in Tanach, Elisha watches as his master Eliyahu rides up to the Heavens in a chariot of fire. Elisha calls out to Eliyahu, “Avi, Avi rechev Yisrael u’farashav. My Father, my Father, Israel’s chariot and horsemen.” Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik asked: Why […]

This past winter, an Israeli woman was granted a new lease on life when she received a new kidney. She is grateful to the donor. And to Jewish Action. In the winter 2010 issue, Jewish Action ran a story about a doctor who donated a kidney to his ailing sister (“Kidney Doctor as Kidney Donor,” […]

View of the reconstructed Kfar Etzion Courtesy of the Kfar Etzion Archives During the months bridging the vote on the partition plan (November 29, 1947) and the birth of the State of Israel (May 15, 1948), Gush Etzion came under siege. The defenders of Gush Etzion were the only ones who stood between the Jordanians […]

Personal memories of landmark historical moments. Map of Gush Etzion, 1947: Some twenty kilometers from Jerusalem, nestled between Bethlehem and Hebron and among numerous Arab villages, were the four kibbutzim of Gush Etzion: Kfar Etzion, Massuot Yitzchak, Ein Tzurim and Revadim. Today, Gush Etzion consists of seventeen communities and nearly 40,000 residents. November 1967. It […]

Here’s a title for a book someone should write, with a nod to Robert Fulghum’s bestseller in praise of kindergarten: All I Really Need to Know I Learned from the Jewish Sabbath

Every kid wonders what it would be like to fly. Yonatan (Yoni) Goldstein didn’t leave it to his imagination; he took his dream to the sky. “I believe it’s my calling,” he says. “It’s something I just knew I had to do,” says the twenty-five-year-old US Air Force pilot. With every military mission, Lieutenant Goldstein […]

Navy Lieutenant Ben Kempner, thirty-two, wrestles with being a yarmulke-wearing, kosher-eating anomaly at work and a uniformed attraction sporting a crew cut in his Jewish community. Fearlessly jumping from combat-training planes in the middle of Fort Benning, Georgia, Lieutenant Kempner will admit that he’s not your typical frum physician. A graduate of Maimonides School in […]

While most MBA graduates head directly for the corporate world, one idealist took a decidedly different turn. He’s happily blending his business acumen with his yen for public service—at the FBI. A member of the FBI’s Special Advisor Program, Jonathan Spielman, a graduate of Yeshiva University and Georgetown University, applies his business expertise to help […]

Texting on Shabbat involves the violation of a number of rabbinic prohibitions and perhaps some Biblical prohibitions as well. We will explore a few key technical issues, keeping in mind that there are others which we cannot discuss due to space limitations. Electricity The treatment of electricity in halachah is complex. The accepted practice is […]

The desert boasts magnificent fauna. From elaborate cacti to colorful flowers to unusual trees, the landscape of the desert is replete with plant life that is unique not only in its beauty, but in its ability to withstand the harsh climate extremes. With so many impressive choices, why would God first appear to Moshe in […]

As a volunteer leader of Seders in small Jewish communities in a former Communist country, I usually devote my introductory remarks to quickly explain why we have come together. I don’t turn to a Biblical pasuk, a Talmudic sugya or some other learned source. I tell a story. I tell about a successful filmmaker I […]

Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter By Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg Ktav Publishing House New Jersey, 2011 128 pages Reviewed by Jack Abramowitz A number of years ago, when there were still only five books in the Harry Potter series, I wrote an article entitled “Harry Potter Is Jewish,” […]