Ginger Pickled Salmon or Halibut Makes 8 servings 2 1/2 pounds Atlantic salmon fillets or halibut steaks (about 8 slices) 1 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 cups white vinegar or rice vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons pickling spices 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 6 thin slices of […]
Below is a synopsis by Rabbi Steven Weil of a brilliant and influential speech delivered in 1975 by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik where he outlined the role of creativity and conservation in Torah. F
It’s vacation time and you want to get away. But with money being tight, you don’t want to overspend on your vacation. What can you do? Below are a few inexpensive options:
The former Israeli prime minister, Levi Eshkol, was very busy and tried to avoid meeting an American philanthropist, but couldn’t. As the gentleman entered, Eshkol said, “Look, you’re busy, I’m busy. Let’s start at the end.”
To truly understand a special child, one must seek to understand the perspective of the child himself, as well as
Few people can take the intellectual step from Talmudic cases of oxen goring each other to their application in modern torts.
On the far left side of the beit midrash, three rows from the back of the room, one seat in at a narrow wooden table, is my makom kavua, my accustomed place to sit. Once a year. With few exceptions, I have used some of my vacation time—usually a week or two, sometimes a month […]
Can a Jew utilize a Christian religious service to heal his life-threatening addiction?
According to Rabbi Shais Taub, we do
At the recent Orthodox Union dinner, we hosted a phenomenally successful Emerging Jewish Communities Fair, where representatives of thirty-nine communities from across North America showcased the places they call home. These communities, boasting of shuls, day schools, kosher eateries, as well as job opportunities and numerous other amenities that facilitate an Orthodox lifestyle, are wonderful […]
MISCONCEPTION: Rashi’s daughters wore tefillin. FACT: There is no evidence that Rashi’s daughters wore tefillin. BACKGROUND: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, known colloquially as “Rashi,” is the commentator par excellence on both the Torah and Talmud. Born in Troyes in northern France in 4801 (1040 CE), he descended on both sides from influential families. He studied in […]
The Politics of Faith What are the challenges that religious Jews in the upper echelons of government face? In the pages ahead, Senator Joseph Lieberman, the most high-profile Shabbat-observant Jew in the United States, and Yehuda Avner, the former ambassador and advisor to Israeli prime ministers, speak candidly about how one maintains loyalty to one’s […]
Photos from The Prime Ministers, reprinted with permission from The Toby Press. Photo: Jono David Sitting in his private office in Jerusalem, Yehuda Avner still carries himself like a polished diplomat. The former ambassador and adviser to Israeli prime ministers is an energetic eighty-two year old, and has retained the gracious manner and self-deprecating humor […]
Today’s teens often passionlessly and passively go through the motions of living an Orthodox lifestyle. This is true even for those who have spent years in Jewish day schools. The lack of a solid, fervent commitment to Yiddishkeit can cause many, especially those who attend secular universities, to eventually shed Torah observance entirely. How can […]
NCSY Regional Directors Share Strategies on Raising Children to Love Judaism Jewish Action interviewed NCSY regional directors across the country and asked the following questions: How can we reach and inspire our children? What are the most effective ways to instill a passion for Judaism in our youth? Is a different approach necessary to reach […]
There is a disturbing phenomenon that we in the Modern Orthodox community don’t like to talk about: many of our teenagers do not attend shul on Shabbat morning. To be sure, there are plenty of Modern Orthodox minyanim packed with serious adolescents. But judging from my conversations with parents and rabbis in communities across the […]
When I was growing up, I don’t recall hearing anything about drugs or adolescent suicide, which is now the third-leading cause of death in that age group. Today, every remnant of modesty has disappeared, and moral corruption occurs in the highest offices of the land. Our children are exposed to unprecedented violence, immorality and corruption. […]
The harsh, rocky desolate terrain of southern Colorado is an unlikely site for settlement of Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jews. Yet, in 1882, devout immigrants from Tsarist Russia moved to Cotopaxi, Colorado, with the hopes of starting a Jewish agricultural colony. Here is their remarkable story of heroism and sacrifice. In the spring of 1882, twenty-three-year-old Michel […]
Editor’s Note: The Chief, a new book about Rabbi Chaim Goldzweig, was recently released and can be purchased online. The book details the enormous contribution Rabbi Goldzweig, who passed away in 2018, made to the OU and to the world of kashrus. Below is a tribute we ran in 2011, marking Rabbi Goldzweig’s fiftieth […]
Jewish tradition asserts that the greatest moment and most important event in history was not the creation of the world but the Revelation of the Torah (Matan Torah). Rabbinic sources perceive the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai as both the climax and telos of Creation. Strikingly, the midrash articulates this view even as […]
My mother used to admonish us with her favorite saying: “Not everything that one thinks should be spoken, and not everything one speaks should be written.” She tried, not always successfully, to teach us to be careful with words. These days, after WikiLeaks, my mother’s words turn out not to be just an old wives’ […]