Talmud

Purim 2026: Ancient Persia offers lessons of prayer, unity, and courage

From ancient Persia to today, Purim shows how prayer, unity, and courage shape Jewish history and identity.

Let us see what is behind the masquerade.
Photo of Sarah M., one of the 12 cases resolved this month by Yad La’Isha of Ohr Torah Stone.

From tragedy to protection: The fight against agunah status - opinion

Purim is a time when giving tzedakah freely is encouraged.

On Purim, Jewish tradition tells us to give to anyone who asks, no questions required - opinion

Piano

Parashat Mishpatim: All or nothing


Israel’s internal clash, not consensus, saved the hostages - opinion

Military force and public pressure collided for 843 days, and together, they brought every hostage home.

 Israeli Police and IDF solodiers in line to pay their respects as the funeral procession of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the last hostage from Gaza, makes its way to Gvili's Negev hometown of Meitar on Jan. 28, 2026.

What honoring our parents teaches us about faith, logic, and Judaism

The mitzvah of honoring one's parents is not a narrow religious demand but a foundational moral duty.

RED HEIFER

Moral, legal issues with Israel’s terrorist death penalty - opinion

Ben-Gvir’s law treats non-Jewish lives as unequal, risking Israel’s moral and global standing.

Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir walks inside the Knesset, on the day US President Donald Trump delivers remarks, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.

Candace Owens urges audience read antisemitic book, asserts Jews controlled slave trade

According to Owens, Jews like Shapiro supposedly believed that they were "contract lords and that people are not allowed to violate contracts or you will ruin them for years."

Candace Owens urges audience read antisemitic book, asserts Jews controlled slave trade

Israel’s 'supreme' democracy: Who really decides the nation’s values - opinion

From Barak to today’s High Court, a quiet revolution has ignited a fierce debate over democracy in Israel.

Former high Court president Aharon Barak is seen at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law (IAPL) in Haifa, earleir this month. Arguments over judicial overreach and activism in Israel have been ongoing for years, the writer notes.

Seeing our brothers’ plight: The light Hanukkah demands we bring into the world - opinion

Hanukkah and Vayeshev together reveal that the festival’s light shines only when we open our eyes to our brothers’ struggles and choose loyalty and compassion.

Candles are lit on the eighth night, at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, last Hanukkah. The main idea of the holiday is the spiritual illumination of the public sphere, says the writer.

Parashat Vayeshev: Bringing hearts closer

The parsha does not show a clash of good vs evil, but a deep disagreement about leadership and the path by which the people of Israel should take.

Most conflicts do not stem from malice but from a lack of genuine understanding.

The Jewish joy of growing older - opinion

'Youth is the most precious thing in life; it’s a shame that it has to be wasted on the young.' – George Bernard Shaw

RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON of Lubavitch at a Lag Ba’omer parade in Brooklyn, 1987.

'Divrei HaLev': A renowned Talmudist rabbi's weekly Torah portion lessons - review

Rabbi Halivni’s magnum opus is 'Mekorot Umesorot' ('Sources and Traditions'), a monumental 10-volume, source-critical commentary on the Talmud in Hebrew.

Torah scroll 521

In fond memory of Rabbi David Ebner: My sharp, sensitive, story-telling rebbe - opinion

When he led us in prayer, we felt the heavens open. Amid the awe, he would sweep us up in joyous dance, drawing his students into the profound intensity of his prayers.

RABBI DR. DAVID EBNER: His approach set a yeshiva-wide tone of intellectual rigor combined with warmth, kindness, and compassion.