Talmud

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
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.

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

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.

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

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

Parashat Vayeshev: Bringing hearts closer


Judaism should bring the 'last confession' (vidui) back

The last confession (vidui), has somewhat disappeared in recent centuries. In this column, I’ll briefly lay out the case for restoring this meaningful ritual.

 WE NEVER truly know which patients might still be able to hear our prayers.

9 Adar: A call for constructive conflict among the Jewish people - opinion

The Beit Shammai-Beit Hillel confrontation must serve as a warning of what can go wrong when one group bulldozes legislation against the will of a major constituency.

 JUSTICE MINISTER Yariv Levin stands behind his chair next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, last week. The Beit Shammai-Beit Hillel confrontation must serve as a warning to what can go wrong when one group bulldozes the passage of legislation, says the writer.

Gila Fine: Teaching Talmud with a twist

Gila Fine’s interpretations of the Talmud are kind, inspiring, and relatable for modern women. Let’s hope the men are on board.

 Fine lecturing in Jerusalem

Silence is complicity: What is the right way to speak out? - opinion

Jewish tradition contains this idea as well, that shtika k’hoda’a – a person’s silence can be taken as acquiescence. This leaves us with the question, how do ensure that we are not silent?

Enjoy the silence

Hanukkah: To pretend or to be really religious?

For religious Jews, Judaism’s constant demand to follow Halacha (Jewish law) may give the impression that Judaism depends solely on the need to “observe.”

 LIGHTING THE ‘hanukkiah’ should be a transforming act.

Hanukkah: One last taste of sovereignty

We know what sovereignty tastes like. For centuries, Hanukkah kept that taste alive. We never forgot how Jews were meant to live. Hanukkah would not let us forget. 

 BRONZE OIL lamp uncovered in excavations at the City of David, Jerusalem.

What is the connection between chess and Judaism? - opinion

Some people believe that Jewish chess players use the same way of thinking while playing chess as if they were studying Talmud.

 PLAYERS COMPETE at the Israeli Chess Championship in Safed, last year.

Nancy Pelosi and Rabban Gamliel: A Talmudic tale of succession - opinion

Much like Speaker Pelosi, the Talmud tells us that Rabban Gamliel rules the house of study, with an iron fist, and with a desire for unity. However, Rabban Gamliel takes this desire a step too far.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announces that she will remain in Congress but will not run for re-election as Speaker after Republicans were projected to win control of the House of Representatives, on the floor of the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, November 17, 2022.

The Jewish leaders leading the Jewish people - then and now - opinion

Living in modern Israel is like living in a real-time ongoing Talmudic dispute.

 RIME MINISTER Yair Lapid arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem

What does Judaism think of sports? - opinion

It can be said that as long as it does not come at the expense of other important duties, sports are very much encouraged in Judaism and perfectly legitimate as a hobby.

Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel