Question: Did the Israelites carry idols with them across the Red Sea? What’s the source for that? Answer: Thank you for your excellent question. There is some disagreement. For sure there was only one idol crossing, if there was any at all. There... 

Question: Can you tell me what traditional Jewish opinion on women Rabbis is? I know that certain branches of Judaism do not allow it. How come? Could you give me any scripture references from the Torah? Answer: We must understand that although commonly... 

Is anti-Semitism the litmus test? An opinion column in today’s Globe and Mail suggest that, Since anti-Semitism is now symbolic of all racism and persecution, denouncing it can act as a sort of shortcut to prove compassion: I oppose anti-Semitism,... 

Update to Canadian Conservatives Woo the Jews : Leading members of the Jewish community – many identified as Liberals – have sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to withdraw a taxpayer-funded Conservative flyer that they say... 

As a coda to the discussion about the woman arrested for wearing a tallit at the Western Wall, , this little Torah nugget came through my Facebook from my friend Simon. This, he writes, “opinion [was] expressed almost 300 years ago in R. Yom Tov... 

Recently, the Rabbinic Assembly, the organisation that represents Conservative rabbis, issued a statement, signed by 300 members, asking that Nazi rhetoric not be used in political discussions. The JTA reported they included examples such as “Southern... 

This is a painful opinion piece from this week’s New York Jewish Week . Devorah Zlochower and Rabbi Dov Linzer are luminaries in the progressive/open Orthodox world. One of them is a beloved former teacher of mine, and maybe of yours, too. The... 

“We are all mediators, translators.” -Jacques Derrida There have been three distinct moments since I began learning in the Jewish legal tradition that have significantly altered my perspective on the goals and intent of what we apply the... 

Isaac Zablocki is the director of The Israel Film Center at the JCC in Manhattan and Executive Director of The Other Israel Film Festival .  When we at the Other Israel Film Festival announced the screening of Mohammed Bakri’s latest documentary Zahara... 

The J Street conference was one of the most intellectually and physically taxing experiences I’ve ever had.  I learned an incredible amount, met amazing people, and feel compelled to keep educating myself on the issues. I had an idea for a post...