“A person is given three names: one that their parents call them, one their fellows call them, and one that they acquire with their deeds.” (Midrash Tanhuma, Va-yakhel) The naming process is unique to each individual and culture, yet names...

(JTA) — When she was 14 years old, Elke Bentley could hear her father’s online Talmud classes through the wall between her bedroom and his home office in Brookline, Massachusetts. The 5 a.m. start time for the daily Talmud learning her father had...

When the group that would become the Hadar Institute launched in 2006 with a study hall in a rented space on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, it aimed to combine two things that, outside of a few rabbinical schools, were rarely found in the same place:...

During his Depression-era run as one of the country’s most popular radio personalities, Father Charles Coughlin spread antisemitic conspiracy theories, praised fascists and suggested Jews deserved the horrors of Nazi persecution. Now, nine decades...

Hebrew Union College, the Reform movement’s rabbinical seminary, will begin admitting and ordaining students who are in relationships with non-Jews, following a decision by its board to drop a longstanding ban on interfaith relationships for rabbinical...

(JTA) — The creators of new Passover haggadahs focused on Zionism and American patriotism were working on their projects long before Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and triggered a war in Gaza and a broad reckoning over both Israel and the place...

I teach a philosophy of religion seminar titled “Faith and Reason.” Most students who register arrive with a mistaken assumption: that the course explores the differences between the two. “Faith” is often defined as belief in a supernatural...

ORLANDO (JTA) —  Ethan Smith ranks fifth in his New Jersey high school class, scored high on the SAT and aced a full slate of five Advanced Placement tests last year. On Oct. 1, he submitted his application to a nearby Ivy League school, the University...

  The Conservative movement is upholding its ban on rabbis officiating interfaith weddings, according to a new, 21-page report released this week. However, the report recommends various changes, such as introducing new rituals and updating...

(JTA) — On Nov. 29, 2021, Ilan and Sherri Glazer announced to the public that they were expecting a baby after three rounds of IVF. The following day, during their 20-week ultrasound, they learned that their baby’s brain wasn’t forming properly....

For the past 15 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside my wife. People often ask us whether it’s difficult to live and work together, and the truth is I really can’t imagine it any other way. We both like to talk about everything from...

This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge on Oct. 21, 2023. To sign up to receive Recharge each week in your inbox, click here. (JTA) — They say that while the Torah doesn’t change each year, we...