News

Article summaries generated by AI:

• D Suissa – Did Tikkun Olam Shrink Our Tradition? – that universalist tikkun olam emphasis may erode distinctively Jewish ritual and identity

• RES Weisz – Ivri Anochi! “I am a Hebrew, and I serve the Almighty God!” – in crisis, one must reaffirm unshakable faith as the bedrock of Jewish identity

• A Christian perspective – Faith Returns to the Public Square – faith must reenter public life to reshape political culture, not merely stay private

• In a bibliophile’s paradise, a treasury of rare Jewish manuscripts – a new exhibit of Hebrew manuscripts shows Jewish creativity across diasporas and cultural integration

• Rabbi Jonathan Sacks died 5 years ago. His new Torah commentary is making waves in Israel – a posthumous Torah commentary draws wide interest in Israel by combining accessible translation, traditional commentaries, and a challenge to ArtScroll’s dominance

• Religious Merchants Still at Risk – religious artisans remain vulnerable to legal pressure when refusing to act against conscience under changing doctrine

Article summaries generated by AI:

• M Taragin – The State of Hashem in Our World: Rosh Hashanah 2025 – Hashem’s presence is under strain: war, internal discord, distorted religious claims & moral relativism dim His light. Rosh Hashanah calls for truth, mercy, unity

• M Bane – The Power of Preparation: Elevating Mitzvos Through Hachanah – proper hachanah (preparation) heightens mitzvot. Deepening observance of Shabbos and Erev Shabbos required, not just ritual, for real uplift

• H Jachter – What We Should Learn From Charlie Kirk – even non-Torah-observant voices can affirm Torah values like sanctity of life, family, marriage. Their alignment merits serious attention

• Chedvata: Israel’s First Haredi Hesder Yeshiva – A Game-Changer for Israel’s Future – a new Haredi Hesder yeshiva (“Chedvata”) merges full Torah learning, college, and IDF service. It promises bridging social divides in Israel

• In Charlie Kirk, Orthodox Jews found a champion — and a wedge – many Orthodox Jews saw Kirk as a defender of biblical values; his alliances with the Christian right had both political utility and communal tensions

• After years of war, world’s oldest synagogue paintings are revealed as intact in Damascus – the Dura Europos synagogue paintings (≈1,700 years old) in Damascus survived war intact. Their public viewing restores a lost link to ancient Jewish art

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Younger rabbis turn to High Holiday helpline – younger rabbis now use a seasonal Elul helpline to deal with burnout, moral weight, and communal polarization

• Dati Leumi Rabbanim: Groups Promoting IDF Enlistment Should Not Be Allowed Into Girls’ High Schools – Dati Leumi rabbis oppose groups encouraging IDF enlistment for girls, citing halachic precedent and concerns about “foreign influence”

• Presumably mostly non-Orthodox – For Jewish communal professionals, internal rifts pose the greatest barrier to hope, survey finds – a US survey of Jewish communal professionals: internal divisions and leadership failures erode hope more than external threats

• As High Holidays loom, US Jews uneasy but unified, rabbis say – ahead of High Holidays Americans feel anxiety over antisemitism, Israel, democracy — yet report greater unity and synagogue engagement

• 1,600-year-old coins from Jewish rebellion against Rome found in Galilee – archaeologists found 1,600-year-old coins from the Gallus Revolt in Galilee, affirming long Jewish resistance under Roman rule

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Review in Jewish Action – Articles of Faith: Traditional Jewish Belief in the Internet Era – Orthodox belief faces new strains online: authority of local rabbis & traditional texts must be clearly defended amid democratized access to halachic and hashkafic debate

• Beautiful – My congregant was stabbed for being Jewish. What happened the next Shabbat was incredible – community shows resilience: after a congregant was stabbed for being Jewish, she publicly recites Hagomel wearing her Star of David; congregation sings “Am Yisrael Chai.”

• Some Jews are tired of winning – A record $10M federal grant to Tikvah has some Jews celebrating and others crying foul – NEH gave Tikvah a $10.4M grant to promote Jewish civilization and counter antisemitism; some praise the funding, others worry over ideological bias

• Religious Hesder Soldiers Forced To Serve In Units With Female Soldiers – dozens of Hesder soldiers say integration with female combat soldiers creates religious-spiritual conflicts; their requests to transfer units are declined

• Trump deploying National Guard to Memphis will help city’s crime problem, rabbis say – rabbis in Memphis endorse deploying National Guard, seeing it as necessary response to crime surge and community safety

• Finding God in the App Store – faith-tech surge: millions use chatbots/apps for spiritual questions; risks include reinforcement of personal beliefs without spiritual discernmen

Article summaries generated by AI:

• RM Taragin – The Work of Everyday Decency – reciting the 13 Middot in Selichot offers a moral mirror. We’re called to emulate Divine traits—mercy, patience, truthfulness—and act decently in everyday life

• Where there is faith, there is freedom – faith enables freedom. Without belief there’s no moral order or genuine choice. Israel and the U.S. are spiritual twins in liberty

• Parenting Isn’t Easy—But Faith Might Help a Little – religious parents report slightly more enjoyment and less stress than non-religious peers. Not cure-all, but faith communities support parenting

• This is how New Yorkers celebrated the High Holidays at the turn of the 20th century – early 1900s New York Jews transformed any available space into informal synagogues for High Holidays. Immigrant communities maintained tradition through resourceful devotion

Article summaries generated by AI:

• My interview on Seforim Chatter – SmallTalk: Articles of Faith: Traditional Jewish Belief in the Internet Era (with Rabbi Gil Student) – Internet era challenges addressed through affirmation of Torah’s divine truth, enduring rabbinic authority, and cultivation of respectful, faith-driven online discourse

• The ‘good news’ and ‘not so good news’ about Jewish giving from historian Jack Wertheimer – Jewish giving increased after crises but relies heavily on few large donors, raising concerns about sustainability and neglect of wider communal needs

• They are taking this very far – Gedolei Torah Establish New Vaad Hatzalah to Assist Bochurim and Yungeleit Facing Gezeiras Giyus – leading sages formed a Vaad Hatzalah to aid bochurim and yungeleit confronting giyus decrees, offering legal help, spiritual support, and communal solidarity

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Patriot and Proud – Orthodox Jewish attendees and speakers joined a conservative forum highlighting patriotism, family values, religious expression, and homeland policy—resonating with current national leadership momentum

• ‘No one should come between God, a believer,’ religious-liberty panel chair says – a national leader insists government should never interfere in private prayer or search for God—and promises protections for public-school religious expression

• Progressive Jews struggle to keep Israel from dividing them – A new kaffiyah policy is designed to help divided Jews pray together. Is this the Jewish future? – a Brooklyn traditional-egalitarian minyan fractures over Israel. One member launches a separate, nationalist prayer group after community rejects overt Zionist expressions.

• Religious Zionist Rabbis to Netanyahu: ‘Apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria’ – Religious Zionist rabbis urge prime leadership to implement sovereignty in Judea and Samaria

• As more Jews acquire guns, a Jewish security group urges stronger regulations for synagogues – with rising Jewish gun ownership, a security network recommends limiting firearm access to designated synagogue security teams only

Article summaries generated by AI:

• RES Weisz – Don’t cry to the Rabbinate over spilt milk – rabbis oversee planning; dairy shortages around holidays reflect poor foresight—not lapses in rabbinic authority

• JIMENA Releases Groundbreaking Report on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in America – Sephardic-Mizrahi Jews (10 % of US Jewry) show stronger communal engagement, deeper Israel connection, and daily Jewish identity, per first national demographic study

Article summaries generated by AI:

• 25 years ago, he wrote the book on ‘Jew vs. Jew.’ Now Samuel Freedman is seeing new and deeper divisions – American Jewry is more divided than ever—shared pillars (Holocaust memory, antisemitism, Israel) are cracking under generational and political strain

• I don’t object to this law. Pray indoors – Quebec’s Proposed New Prayer Ban Will Criminalize Jewish Rituals – Quebec plans to ban outdoor prayer—rituals like Tashlich and Simchas Torah in public would face criminal penalties

• Scholar or sorcerer? The enduring mystery of the Maharal of Prague – a painting may offer the only realistic image of Maharal of Prague—his legend diverges from scholarly evidence

• Conservative Judaism’s procedural paralysis – Conservative Judaism suffers from paralysis—too focused on committees and policy, not revitalizing vision or strategy

• Or maybe even Israelis are living in galus – ‘Diaspora’ not a category that needs to exist, Second Temple-era scholar says – “Diaspora” may be unnecessary—term coined in Israel, not used by Jews abroad historically; dialogue and identity must be redefined

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Court Upholds Yeshiva Education in Latest Victory Over NYS Education Department – New York court upholds yeshiva education, ruling SED’s denial arbitrary and affirming yeshivas meet the broadened “substantially equivalent” standard, preserving religious schooling autonomy

• Religious leaders need to get involved – Why the Church Must Lead the Tech Age – Tech leaders need moral guidance. The Church must steer innovation—rooted in tradition—to uphold human dignity and global evangelization