President Obama should correct a terrible mistake planned for the upcoming Democratic National Convention and disinvite President Jimmy Carter. Currently Carter is scheduled to give a speech to the convention. The fact that Carter is speaking is insulting to Israel's supporters and is possibly a danger to Jews around the...

Millions of people around the world are expected to watch the opening ceremony of the London Olympics at 9 p.m. London time on Friday, July 27. While the ceremony is being promoted as a joyous event celebrating tradition, athletics, patriotism and the international cooperation of the world, for the Jewish...

Millions of people around the world are expected to watch the opening ceremony of the London Olympics at 9 p.m. London time on Friday (July 27).

While the ceremony is being promoted as a joyous event celebrating tradition, athletics, patriotism and the international cooperation of the world, for the Jewish...

We are just a couple of weeks away from the Twelfth Siyum Hashas, which is a truly great moment that deserves to be celebrated by theentire Jewish community.

A siyum hashas literally means "completion of the Talmud"; what this colloquially refers to is the completion of a...

We are just a couple of weeks away from the 12th Siyum Hashas, which is a truly great moment that deserves to be celebrated by the entire Jewish community.

A siyum hashas literally means "completion of the Talmud." What this colloquially refers to is the completion of a course of...

The Jewish and Muslim communities have recently expressed international outrage and concern about a ruling emanating from a German court in Cologne that apparently limits the freedom of those wishing to practice a ritual circumcision, known in Hebrew as a berit milah.

For a...

The Jewish and Muslim communities have recently expressed international outrage and concern about a ruling emanating from a German court in Cologne that apparently limits the freedom of those wishing to practice a ritual circumcision, known in Hebrew as a brit milah.

For Jews, the brit milah...

A recent article by Anne-Marie Slaughter in Atlantic Monthly, titled "Why Women Still Can't Have It All," has provoked much commentary as it questions whether it is really possible for women to have it all, and by that she means an uncompromisingly ambitious professional career and a full...

A recent article by Anne-Marie Slaughter in Atlantic Monthly, titled "Why Women Still Can't Have It All," has provoked much commentary as it questions whether it is really possible for women to have it all, and by that she means an uncompromisingly ambitious professional career and a full family life.

On June 21, for the second month in a row, a Jewish woman praying in a once-a-month prayer service was detained for hours by Israeli police for the crime of wearing a tallit -- a prayer shawl -- at the Western Wall.

The Western Wall is considered...

Have you ever tried arguing with a three-year-old? It is definitely a no-win situation. Let me give you an example. A certain three-year-old I know might say to me: "I want chocolate milk in a sippy cup." I will then pour the milk into the sippy cup and add the...

In September 2012, a successor to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the current Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, will be appointed. The new rabbi will begin his tenure in September 2013. If the post will not undergo a major transformation and become purely one of spiritual and educational leadership, then it...

With Father's Day right around the corner, it is appropriate to offer some spiritual reflections on the role of a father and on a Jewish approach to parenting.

Referring to God as "Father" is commonplace in the Jewish liturgy. We say often "our Father in heaven" or "our Father our...

I confess! I am a freeaholic. What is a freeaholic? I am addicted to offering things to other people for free. But there is no such things as a free lunch, so it is time to look at my own behavior.

Recently the Avi Chai foundation launched a new project...

Recent news stories have accused Mitt Romney of engaging in hurtful pranks while he was in High School--such as cutting the hair of a fellow student against his will. Many of us would not want our old High School behavior to be dissected in public and I know I certainly...

Twice a year Jews read passages from the Bible that are described as curses that will befall the Jewish people if they do not obey the commandments of the Torah.

One way to approach the rewards and curses of the Torah is in a literal fashion. But alternatively, we might...

It is a fundamental requirement of Jewish law that all Jews place a mezuzah on the doorpost of their home. Jewish law actually requires that it be placed on the right side of every room in the home--excluding the bathroom. A mezuzah is a piece of parchment which contains two...

There is a well know parable about a man who comes to a rabbi and begs the rabbi for advice about how to undo the effects of his sin of defamatory gossip. The rabbi responds by telling the man to fill a pillowcase with feathers and to open the pillowcase...

In 1988 a doctor named Randolph Byrd conducted a study to determine whether or not intercessory prayers on behalf of other people were effective.

The findings were amazing. The patients who were not prayed for were nearly twice as likely to suffer complications than patients who were prayed for...

I recently read in the New York Times about a study of Princeton University Students who actually believed that they had an impact on the Super Bowl merely by thinking about the game. No matter that they were thinking about the game while they watched it on TV...