Current Issues

The remarkable interplay between giving and receiving.

On Message

Why Bring Kids into a World as Messed Up as Ours?

by Tzvi Gluckin

Because hope is a Jewish value.

America's Lost Boys and Me

by Rob Henderson

Society

On Message

In Defense of Having Babies

by Tzvi Gluckin

Child-freedom combines the freedom from responsibility of being a child with the independence and means of being an adult. But can you really have your cake and eat it, too?

Arts

Kabbalah and Jazz: The Mystical Foundation of Improvisational Music

According to Jewish belief, everything is music.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Katie Couric and The Other Racism

Ageism, the denigration and mistreatment of the elderly, is becoming recognized as a problem as serious as racism.

Arts

Did You Know They’re Jewish?

by Competitive Enterprise Institute, adapted from Leonard E. Read's 1958 Essay

23 Jewish celebrities and historical figures, past and present.

Society

I, Pencil: The Movie

Can a single individual, working independently and from scratch, create an ordinary yellow pencil?

Arts

Dune, Judaism and Humanity's Hope

Why does Frank Herbert's esoteric book continue to fascinate, generation after generation?

Society

A Lesson in Compassion from Fauda’s Lior Raz

by Rabbi Elchanan Poupko

What could I do for someone who knew he would die soon? I knew Len loved Raz and so I decided to ask the Israeli actor for a favor.

Arts

Jews in the World Series

by Rivka Ronda Robinson

Jewish baseball stars excite fans in Major League World Series.

Society

People Love Dead Jews

by Rabbi Avi Shafran

Dara Horn's new book offers marvelous daggers of acerbic observations about being Jewish today.

Arts

Adele's New Song Gives Us Access to Her Heart

Divorce is akin to death. In this sense, we are all part of Adele’s massive, global shiva.

Society

To All Those Who Doubt You, Including Yourself

You don't have to listen to that voice that weighs you down, holds you back, or causes you to give up on your dreams.

Society

Four Mood-Elevating Acts of Kindness My Friend Taught Me

by Ruchama Feuerman

Because good energy begets more good energy.

Society

Military Vets Find Solace and Faith in Israel

by Faygie Holt

Through Heroes to Heroes soldiers open up about their experience and move onto a path of spiritual healing.

Arts

James Bond: 5 Jewish Facts

Ian Fleming's antisemitism and other ways Jews loomed large in the world of 007.

Arts

The Secret Chord: The Complex, Heroic Act of Forgiveness

An exploration of the process of forgiveness, through the prism of music and Jewish wisdom.

Science & Medicine

What Is Time?

by Beyond Belief

Professor Rovelli and Rabbi Jacobs discuss the meaning of life. Are their positions too far to bridge?

Society

For Those in Recovery, Be a Blessing

Take whatever blessing you have and use it to become a blessing in other people’s lives.

Science & Medicine

A Physicist and a Rabbi Discuss Reality

by Beyond Belief

Professor Rovelli says that he and the Rabbi are from "different tribes" when it comes to how they understand the meaning of life. Rabbi Jacobs begs to differ and thinks their positions are much closer than the professor thinks. Can these two approaches truly ever be resolved?

Science & Medicine

Is There Such Thing As "Now?"

by Beyond Belief

We all seem to know what is meant by the term "now." The reality is that pinning down exactly when "now" is is surprisingly difficult. How might it change our thinking if there were no such thing?

Society

Biases, Biases Everywhere: No News is Fair News

by Rabbi Avi Shafran

Like Alexei Navalny, most of us are subjected to a daily barrage of propaganda. The key difference is that ours is self-imposed.

Society

The Facebook/WhatsApp/Instagram Outage and the Flood

How are we using the gift of increased time?

Society

PODCAST: Zero Percent: Why Are Jews So Successful?

by Rabbi Menachem Lehrfield

What is the secret sauce of the Jewish people that explains their over-representation in so many arenas?

Society

Heroism and the Ghost Army of WWII

Gilbert Seltzer, a veteran of a top secret Ghost Army troops, has died.

The Difference between Success and Happiness

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

The Difference between Success and Happiness

Success is measurable; happiness is limitless.

Society

12 Business Lessons from the Book of Genesis

by Michael A. Eisenberg

The characters are entrepreneurs and innovators, industrialists struggling to adapt to modernity and negotiators seeking to preserve their unique identities.

Society

Why Were the Graves of So Many Jewish GIs Marked by a Cross?

by Dr. Rafael Medoff

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter and a group of dedicated volunteers, Jewish heroes are finally being buried with a Star of David.

Society

Karen, White Female Privilege, and Its Hebrew Counterpart

by Benjamin Elterman

Perhaps it's no accident that the name Karen is very similar to the Hebrew word keren.

Science & Medicine

Abortion in Jewish Law

by Daniel Eisenberg, M.D.

The traditional Jewish view does not fit conveniently into the major "camps" in the current debate.

Society

The True Legacy of 9/11

The enduring image of 9/11 must not be people falling from buildings but of a nation lifting each other up.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Yom Kippur and the Lessons of 9/11

“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”

Arts

The Secret Chord: Jimi Hendrix's Message to Love

The rock legend had a tough childhood but used music to heal himself and, ultimately, to discover the power of love.

A Dying Boy's Last Wish and the Key to a Meaningful New Year

Video – Inspiring Hope

A Dying Boy's Last Wish and the Key to a Meaningful New Year

by Rabbi Tzvi Sytner

Notre Dame football coach's inspiring lesson on keeping our word and fulfilling our resolutions.

Science & Medicine

Steven Weinberg and the Twilight of the Godless Universe

by Stephen C. Meyer

With the passing last month of Steven Weinberg, the world lost a great theoretical physicist.

Society

The Bishop who Saved 1500 Jews

by Rivka Ronda Robinson

Pavel Peter Gojdic suffered mistreatment and humiliation for his outspoken defense of Jews during the Holocaust.

Chief Editor's Blog

The Collapse of Afghanistan: What Does It Mean to be Truly Free?

by Rabbi Nechemia Coopersmith

No matter how much money, power and resources are poured in, freedom and peace cannot be imposed by outside forces. It must come from within.

Why Even Atheists Should Teach Their Children about God

Society

Why Even Atheists Should Teach Their Children about God

by Erica Komisar, Prager University

As a therapist, Erica Komisar is often asked by parents, “How do I talk to my child about death if I don’t believe in God or heaven?” Her answer is always the same. Can you guess what it is?

Society

Miami: A Searing Search and Rescue Diary of IDF Home Front Command Delegation Leader

by Col. Golan Vach

Col. Golan Vach recalls the chilling, two-week mission at the disaster site.

Society

Can a Game of Peek-a-Boo Change the World?

by Slovie Jungreis-Wolff

Taking to heart the message of Molly Wright, the youngest person to deliver a Ted Talk.

Science & Medicine

Genetic Screening for Breast Cancer Genes: Weighing the Pros and Cons

by Daniel Eisenberg, M.D.

Knowledge is power. But sometimes knowledge can become a tyrannical master.

Society

The Last Two Nazis on Trial