I decided that I’d put a unique “spin” (pun intended) on one of the iconic symbols of Chanukah – the dreidel – the spinning top. In terms of its relative importance, it is overshadowed by the ...

A little more than 50 years ago, on December 6, 1975, a makeshift Shabbat prayer service was held in the cavernous ballroom of Lincoln Square Synagogue, which was then located on West 69th Street and ...

One thing they all have in common is the unique character of the candle which shares its light without diminishing its own ability to shine. Just as the flame of a candle can do so, so too can the ...

There was once a public debate between a rabbi and an astrophysicist regarding the nature of our universe. The astrophysicist, representing the atheist perspective, confidently approached the podium ...

Every so often, in the quiet shuffle of auctions and dealer lists, an item surfaces that makes the collector’s pulse quicken in a way only fellow bibliophiles truly understand. Recently, I was ...

An artist’s rendering of part of the new Visitor Center. It was a beautiful, clear day last week – the typical early winter weather that feels more like spring – when I visited Jerusalem’s hallowed ...

According to the Chofetz Chaim, anyone can start one. He suggests the following steps: After separating maaser or tithe funds, one-third of the amount should be saved towards a free loan fund until ...

One reason given by the Elya Rabbah (Simon 492, seif 3) for these fast days is to atone for the possible sin of doing work on the recently passed Chol HaMoed of Sukkos or Pesach. One can immediately ...

The Dutchess County Conservative Party was promoting a new governor for next year. The sign “Retire Hochul” said it all. In a bucolic setting at the northern end of the Metro-North’s Hudson line, ...

Bronze sculpture of an ibex from Iran, 1st millennium BCE. Fishes are not named in either sedra – only the requirement of having fins and scales. Be aware that fish can have different types of scales ...

In Va’etchanan, we declared the Shema: “Hear, O Israel…” A moment of thunder and tenderness, of inheritance wrapped in presence. In Eikev, we continue it, not in recitation, but in enactment. Here, in ...

In the financial world, few things offer more comfort than receiving a large sum of cash. The challenge is how to handle a windfall responsibly based on the markets, economic environment, and personal ...