Torah

First values, then holy places: Lesson from Sinai and Jerusalem - opinion

A hostage’s testimony and Parashat Yitro show that the Torah places values before territory.

|ByLEO DEE
Former hostage Eitan Mor attends a conference titled “Gaza: The Day After” at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, on January 12, 2026.
The God one seeks is found precisely in the confusing, unclear place.

Parashat Yitro: Illuminating the fog

Moses understood that genuine service of God is not found in thunder and lightning but rather in the place of fog, confusion, and lack of clarity.

|ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
A big ball of fire (illustrative)

Parashat Yitro: Before the revelation at Sinai

Whenever people are convinced that they are acting in the name of higher goals – especially when they believe they are serving God – moral boundaries become fragile.

|ByMOSHE TARAGIN
WOMEN ARE seen studying Torah and Halacha at Midreshet Lindenbaum. Women must be given the opportunity to take the Chief Rabbinate’s exams, the writer says.

Women as halachic leaders, then and now - opinion

In our generation, we are privileged to encounter women whose learning, commitment, and spiritual leadership who serve the Jewish people by answering halachic questions and issuing rulings.

|ByKENNETH BRANDER

Light unto the nations: Rivkah Lambert Adler and teaching Torah outward

The concept of illuminating the nations of the world was always envisioned as one of prophetic destiny rather than real obligation. Author Rivkah Lambert Adler confronts this very notion.

FEBRUARY 1, 2026ByYONATAN VERSTANDIG
A SEPHARDI Torah scroll is rolled to reveal the first paragra ph of the ‘Shema’ prayer.

From exile to ecstacy? Israel’s enduring resilience in the face of crisis - opinion

Life for the Jewish people, and virtually anyone who comes within our circle, is unpredictable.

JANUARY 31, 2026BySTEWART WEISS
‘CHILDREN OF Jacob Sell Their Brother Joseph,’ by Konstantin Flavitsky, 1855.

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.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByMOSHE TARAGIN
RED HEIFER

Parashat Beshalach's lessons on unity, shared risk, and IDF service

A segment of Israeli society – largely comprising traditional, Religious-Zionist, and secular Jews – carries the overwhelming weight of military service.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByMICHAEL FREUND
A STATUE of Deborah dated 1792 stands in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Parashat Beshalach: The joy of ‘mitzvot’

Recounting for the first time the story of an entire people who, after long years of harsh and grueling bondage, emerge into freedom.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
JOSEPH’S TOMB in Nablus.

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.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByYITZ GREENBERG
Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir walks inside the Knesset, on the day US President Donald Trump delivers remarks, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.

Collapse of responsibility in the name of faith - opinion

Parashat Bo warns: true faith demands responsibility, that honoring life means accountability and protecting the vulnerable.

JANUARY 25, 2026ByJONATHAN LIEBERMAN
Ultra-Othodox Jewish men block a road and clash with police during a protest against the autopsy of toddlers who died in a daycare, on Tuesday. These protests were not about honoring the dead, but about avoiding accontability, the writer argues.

Grapevine: Jewish-Irish eyes are smiling

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JANUARY 24, 2026ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
THE NEATLY tucked-away Antopol Martyrs Synagogue.

Parashat Bo: Jeremiah’s timeless promise to Israel

Empires crumble, pain persists, yet Israel survives; Jeremiah’s words offer reassurance across generations.

JANUARY 23, 2026ByMICHAEL FREUND
Exodus from Egypt (Edward Poynter)

Parashat Bo: The world is catching up, again

'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' was a crude forgery that peddled the myth of a clandestine Jewish cabal manipulating institutions under the guise of doing good.

JANUARY 23, 2026ByMOSHE TARAGIN
Gold.