Jewish law

Parashat Tazria-Metzora: Turning lemons into lemonade

These parashot deal at length with a unique phenomenon described in the Torah – tzara’at, which are marks or changes that appear on the walls of a house, on clothing, or on the body.

'Spirituality can grow without diminishing anyone,' says the writer.
Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, Director of Chabad of the Bluegrass and Chairman of the Kentucky Jewish Council.

New Kentucky law says authorities must contact Chabad before cremating unnamed body

REPRESENTATIVES OF the Chief Rabbinate of Israel cross Jaffa Street in Jerusalem as they deliver a kosher certificate to a local restaurant.

Time for Israel’s non-kosher public to push back - opinion

Prof. John Loike (R), Prof Alan Kadish (M), and Rabbi Tzvi Flaum (L)

New study examines debate over brain-dead pregnant women kept on ventilator


What does Jewish law say about objecting to medical procedures?

May a Jew perform or participate in a procedure that goes against his or her religious beliefs?

 PERFORMING AN ultrasound on a pregnant woman.

Israeli public ready for relaxation of conversion laws - poll

The much-politicized issue of Jewish conversions has seen Israel’s left and right-wing debate the merits of halachic conversion and what should be considered a legitimate conversion for decades.

 President of the Supreme Court of Israel Esther Hayut and all fifteen justices assemble to hear petitions against the reasonableness standard law in the High Court in Jerusalem, on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.

Meet the grandmother whose sukkah and kindness were for all - opinion

The second-to-last sukkah in our Oma’s life was suffused with the timeless tradition and vitality that define the Jewish family.

 JOEY GUEDALIA wears a T-shirt emblazoned with ‘Protect this home’ as he poses with the family, including Oma Els, center

The People's Talmud: Online Jewish law study and the pursuit of wisdom

The People’s Talmud entries are not cumbersome translations of the Talmud but narratives that express the Talmud’s point in the language of today.

 WALL POSTER by People’s Talmud, hung in schools.

Israel's Law of Return extends to widowers of eligible Jews, court rules

The Israeli branch of the Reform movement argued to the court that immigration rights should also extend to the widows of children and grandchildren of Jews.

NEW IMMIGRANTS from North America disembark at Ben-Gurion Airport after a flight arranged by Nefesh B’Nefesh.

Israeli rabbis are issuing guidance about how to adjust Jewish law during wartime

The opinions are almost all rooted in the core Jewish idea that pikuach nefesh, or the preservation of life, overrides nearly every other religious law.

 Head Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef seen with Chief Rabbi of Tzfat Shmuel Eliyahu at an inauguration ceremony for a new women's mikve, in the Northern Israeli town of Tzfat.

Do people with dementia have to follow Jewish law?

We see how Halacha seeks to keep people with dementia in the world of mitzvot for as long as possible, while always doing everything to protect their physical well-being.

 ONE SHOULD not hand a little child a cheeseburger.

Grapevine: Academics at Hadassah

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

The site of the former President Hotel on Ahad Ha’am Street. In a comic twist, the derelict sign now reads ‘Resident Ho.’

During the three weeks: Is it permissible to celebrate a wedding during these days?


Is quality of life a Jewish concept?

Judaism certainly places a premium on preserving life and usually calls upon us to do everything to save a life. Nonetheless, as Kohelet proclaims, “There is a time for death.”

 ‘TO PROLONG life is a mitzvah, to prolong dying is not.’ (Illustrative)