Torah

Haredi leaders, Yahya Sinwar: Different ideologies, the same refusal to face reality - opinion

In Keinon’s reading, Gaza’s devastation was not an unforeseen consequence. It was a price Sinwar was prepared to pay in the hope of igniting a regional war that would ultimately destroy Israel.

United Torah Judaism MKs Moshe Gafni and Yitzhak Goldknopf attend a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026
A plenum session and a vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026.

Israel's government knew the risks of haredi draft evasion – and ignored them - opinion

SEVENTY LANGUAGES?

Parashat Devarim: Always relevant

The new synagogue in Kibbutz Kissufim.

Beyond the Headlines: New synagogue in Kissufim, with the old Torah ark from Gush Katif - opinion


Are there other lessons from October 7? - opinion

The October 7 massacre fell on 22 Tishrei – Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, two days that signify the highest joy: one completing the festival of Sukkot, the other our rejoicing in the Torah itself

Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi delivers a torah lesson at Ateret Yisrael Yeshiva in Jerusalem, November 19, 2019.

Fixing the blurred line between Judaism and religion - opinion

Religion, similar to volunteer work, is better kept private to preserve its authenticity. Religious adults generally make the decision to remain religious due to their personal beliefs. 

Milwaukee Jews march in the community's annual Walk for Israel, part of the federation's celebrations for Israel's independence day.

Knesset passes contentious haredi-backed bill to enshrine Torah study in Israel's Basic Law

The haredi-backed Basic Law passed its final Knesset votes after weeks of coalition tensions and warnings that it could encourage draft evasion.

MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, July 12, 2026.

Thinking about the Basic Law: Torah Study - opinion

This law means by “Torah study” includes only haredi students at haredi yeshivas who are engaged almost exclusively with religious issues, and most of whom have very little, if any, general education

 A voting box in the last Israeli election in 2015

Israel's hysterical Torah study bill will backfire on the ultra-Orthodox - opinion

What’s really happening is a payoff to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) political parties, against the will of an overwhelming majority of Israelis and in direct defiance of the Supreme Court.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Knesset plenum to vote in favor of Basic: Law Torah Study bill, shaking hands with Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Basic Law: Debasing Torah - opinion

The proposed Basic Law: Torah Study would grant constitutional status to Torah study, but in practice it would turn a sacred obligation into a political and legal instrument. That would harm Torah...

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty study Torah outside the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem during a silent protest against the imprisonment of yeshiva students who failed to comply with military recruitment orders, July 1, 2026; Illustrative.

Retracing the history of Talmudic sage Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (Rashi), from Germany to France

Many associate him with Worms, Germany, where he studied as a young man. However, his hometown was Troyes, the capital of France’s Champagne region, where he served as a rabbi and dayan.

THE BUILDING that once served as Rashi’s synagogue and study hall.

Israel’s ‘Tinder for pets’ is helping shelter animals match with loving homes

An Israeli nonprofit is using a Tinder-style app to match shelter dogs and cats with loving families and reduce failed adoptions.

Adopt me Israel's Ela Sayag Lipman and her two adopted rescue dogs, Duda and  Namer.

Parashat Matot-Masei: Don’t borrow identity

Public debate has become louder, more bitter, and less capable of self-correction because opinions have hardened into identities.

IT ALL comes back to the question of identity.

Parashat Matot-Masei: Slow and steady

The most important movement is not always what is visible externally, but what takes place within a person.

EVERY STATION on the slow journey  plays an indispensable role.