By Eric Berger, STAFF WRITER
• Published October 26, 2016
If you want to understand Rabbi Mordecai Yaroslawitz’s sukkah, think about a pop-up eatery that is successful, with people constantly shifting in and out for meals. The Orthodox rabbi, who goes by “Yari,” has been building a sukkah for three decades...
WASHINGTON — The latest battle over religious pluralism in Israel has unleashed a new barrage of criticism and calls for reform aimed at the Orthodox-controlled Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Unlike major flare-ups in past decades, however, this time it’s...
Should religious institutions adapt to changing times or ought they insist on conformance to their traditional practices? It’s a tug of war that has been repeated throughout the ages, with the rope being pulled aggressively to one side or the other....
BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published June 20, 2012
More than 100 people celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Central Agency for Jewish Education (CAJE) at its recent annual meeting last Monday. Guests included current and past officers of the agency, professional staffers, faculty members, community...
WASHINGTON -- President Obama is spreading the word, one Jewish constituency at a time: He has Israel's back. Obama defended his record on Israel and on religious freedoms on Tuesday during a White House meeting with Orthodox leaders. Challenged by one...
JERUSALEM — After a Jerusalem-area’s religious council allowed a female Reform rabbi to participate in its proceedings, some advocates of liberal Judaism in the country are hailing their inroads into the Orthodox-dominated religious infrastructure....
SOFIA, Bulgaria -- As a child, Gabrielle Pavlova pored over pictures of her Jewish paternal grandmother, who died decades before Pavlova was born. The family had no other tie to Judaism, and Pavlova was fascinated. She delved into her Jewish heritage,...
Y-Love exits the closet, with flair The rapper Y-Love belongs to many minority groups: Born to an Ethiopian father and a Puerto Rican mother, he converted to Orthodox Judaism and now he’s out of the closet. “I want to be there at that gay pride festival,...
The search to replace Britain's powerful longtime chief rabbi has gone international, but even as resumes are gathered and interviews conducted, some are questioning whether the position is still relevant and what it means today for the Anglo Jewish community....
Letter provokes responses Norman Pressman raises an interesting point in his objection to the all-girls musical productions of Block Yeshiva and Bais Yaakov (Letter to the editor, Feb. 29). He is correct that I will not be able to attend my own daughter’s...
The Brooklyn District Attorney's office is investigating the death of an infant from herpes following a controversial circumcision-related rite as a possible criminal matter, a newspaper reported. Jerry Schmetterer, spokesman for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes,...
NEW YORK -- The captain of an Orthodox high schol basketball team has sued a Texas public school district over the refusal to accomodate a request to reschedule tournament games that conflict with the Jewish sabbath. In a suit filed Thursday in U.S....
