The incredible aroma of food cooking on the grill is a sure-fire way to spark your appetite. Here are some ways to sneak some nutrition onto the plate the next time everyone gathers around the grill.

My birthday is on Purim. But my destiny seems to be linked with Tishah B’Av. For more than twenty years I have had the privilege of leading presentations of the kinot every Tishah B’Av morning. Initially I conducted these programs in my former synagogue, Shomrei Emunah of Baltimore, Maryland. There the attendance grew by leaps […]

1. SPEND TIME TOGETHER Even ten minutes a day of uninterrupted time to touch base builds connection. Spending more time when available and setting aside time to be together (e.g., date nights) are just as important. The key is being present, focusing only on the person in front of you, to the exclusion of all […]

As part of the Orthodox Union’s ongoing commitment to strengthen the Jewish family, the OU recently conducted an online international survey on marital satisfaction in the Orthodox community. The anonymous Aleinu Marital Satisfaction Survey, which took place from January to March 2009, targeted the Orthodox community and focused upon the many facets of marital satisfaction […]

A growing number of frum fiction writers are not only entering the mainstream, they are challenging the widely held assumption that realistic depictions of religious Jews don’t sell books. Can Orthodox novelists make it in the mainstream literary market? Apparently they can. In today’s publishing market, where explicit scenes and violence reign, a new crop […]

We often have the tendency to look for the “tzuris.” There certainly are enough problems to go around, and because the negatives tend

Once proud and flourishing, the Jewish communities of Egypt are today on the verge of extinction. With a generous research grant from the Orthodox Union, Dr. Ari Greenspan and Rabbi Dr Ari Z. Zivotofsky recently visited the dwindling Egyptian Jewish communities of Alexandria and Cairo to offer hope and encouragement to the few remaining Jews […]

Fifty years ago, when I was in high school and Dr. Bernard Lander was the dean of Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School, we would often ride together to the YU campus. During the drive, Dr. Lander would often speak about building his own college. Even as a teenager I thought, “He is a dreamer.” […]

I first met Dr. Bernard Lander at the Orthodox Union’s 1964 Biennial Convention in Washington, DC. He was already a legend in OU circles, having served as a director or officer since 1938 (at his death he had served on the Union’s Board for seventy- two of the organization’s one hundred and twelve years). I […]

The Beast That Crouches at the Door: Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, and Beyond By Rabbi David Fohrman Devora Publishing Jerusalem, 2007 216 pages Macro and Micro A few times in a person’s life, a book comes along that truly makes a difference. Rare is the book that unveils something genuinely fresh and exciting […]

Q: Lately, we’ve been eating out several times a week, and I feel it in my clothes–everything is getting tighter! How do I stop this weight gain without completely avoiding restaurants? A: It sounds like you may be overeating at restaurants–and you’re not alone. Many people see going out to eat as a time to […]

Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua was asked by his disciples to explain his exceptional longevity. He told them, “In all my days I never took a shortcut through a synagogue; I never stepped over the students [who sat on the floor to listen to his discussions], and I never raised my hands [for Birkat Kohanim] without […]

Herod, an architectural genius, built the Herodium, a luxurious and magnificent fortress in the Judean Hills. Nowadays, many Jews flock to Herodium on Tisha B’Av eve for the reading of Eichah. Photos: www.sassontiram.com After the fall of Jerusalem on Tishah B’Av in the year 70 CE, three fortresses were still held by the Jews: Masada, […]

I have attended almost thirty OU biennial conventions over the past sixty-five years but none, in retrospect, was as significant as the Thanksgiving weekend of 1954 when two hundred delegates gathered in Atlantic City. It was not an easy time to speak of an Orthodox Jewish future in North America. Changing demographics, the rush to […]

     Photo: Tim Sullens Smack dab in the middle of a prolific Hollywood career, writing and producing such monster-hit shows as Friends, Roseanne and Malcolm in the Middle, Michael Borkow decided to create a brand new episode in his life–one that featured Torah study, Shabbat and shul. He had long sensed the wisdom and beauty […]

While many kashrut organizations do a good job of upholding kashrut standards, we believe there is one factor that makes us unique in the kosher world: the fact that Klal Yisrael benefits from the funds generated by OU certification. The OU is a non-profit organization; as such, all the income earned from companies that pay […]

MISCONCEPTION: A Jew with a tattoo may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery. FACT: This belief has no basis in Jewish law. Just as a Jew who violated other Torah laws may be buried in a Jewish cemetery, so too may one who violated the prohibition against being tattooed. BACKGROUND: This misconception is widespread […]

THE BIBLE IN BRIEF The Nach Yomi Companion, Volumes 1-2 Xlibris; OU Press When I was young I received as a gift a book called The Children’s Bible that was a thousand-or-so page condensed version of Tanach. I found it fascinating and read the thick book– not once but twice. Its attraction was due to […]

As I looked out the window of the El Al jet, the plane was lifting off the runway. The fellow beside me was already snoring. A tall, denim-clad woman sprawled on the seat across the aisle watched with interest as I whipped out my siddur. When I began whispering Tefillat Haderech, she arched her eyebrows […]

As our Jeep bounces violently through a valley somewhere in the Jordan Valley, we spot a group of about fifteen khaki-clad soldiers on a nearby hill. The soldiers have been stationed on the hill

As a new immigrant to Israel, I volunteered for a two-year stint in Nahal Haredi. During the course of my service I discovered just how different a truly Jewish unit is from the army you see in the movies.

Josh Tresser, nineteen, of Cleveland, Ohio, had plans to graduate public high school, go off to college in Colorado and snowboard to his heart’s delight. Becoming a Torah-observant Jew and a soldier in the Israeli army was definitely not on his itinerary. As the saying goes, God laughed.