In an effort to show up to synagogue more knowledgeable about the weekly Torah portion – and be prepared to offer a few words of Torah on short notice if asked by my lunch hosts – I picked up Yiscah ...

The prophecy of Jacob over Judah is a profound statement of expectation of the coming Messiah, in which every word – indeed ...

Auto-antisemitism describes Jews adopting anti-Jewish discourse against their own people, sometimes from moral superiority, ...

Yiddish World Blog ties weekly Torah portion with works of Yiddish writers For last week’s portion, the blog matches the story of Jacob’s daughter Dina with a poem about her by the poet Itsik Manger.

Every Shabbos, Jews in synagogues of all denominations hear the cantor, rabbi or a layperson chant that week’s Torah portion from an open scroll. But Yiddish scholar Sheva Zucker says you don’t need ...

Lundquist, an English professor at North Hennepin Community College in Minnesota, debuts with a wrenching account of the breakup of her marriage to a gay man. Lundquist met her Continue reading » ...

As Hanukkah begins this Sunday night, the weekly Torah portion “Vayeshev” offers a strikingly relevant backdrop. The parasha follows Joseph, who is repeatedly cast into darkness only to rise, again ...

Jill Crimmings smoothly rolls three balls of challah dough into even strands. She lifts them, joining them together with a pinch, before laying them down to braid. But the loaf of challah, the ...

How do we preserve tradition while simultaneously introducing new ideas? Can worldviews from the past coexist with those of the new generation? From Shabbat tables and Passover seders to public forums ...

The Priestly Blessing starts with the phrase “Yevarechecha HaShem veyishmerecha” — “May God bless you and protect you.” Since God told the Kohanim, “So shall you bless the children of Israel,” the ...

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin writes that the names of the weekly Torah portions, like the names of people, speak to the heart of the portions’ message. So why are two parshiot in the Torah — last ...