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,... 

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... 

“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... 

Every time that an online site announces the addition of new collections, you can be sure that geneabloggers will chime in with questions and suggestions. Footnote.com’s recent announcement has produced responses by both Diane Haddad of the Genealogy... 

HIJACKING AMERICAN HEALTH CARE By Mario Goveia We are now all familiar with the growing list of falsehoods that got people to vote for Barack Obama last year – from his denial of his long term relationships with Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN and... 

France to launch national pride campaign in battle against Islamic fundamentalism By PETER ALLEN, Islam in Action 27th October 2009 France is to adopt a series of measures to ‘reaffirm pride’ in the country and combat Islamic fundamentalism.... 

This a guest post by Rabbi Ezra Weinberg. Sometimes the first interaction you have at a conference can be emblematic of the experience. In my instance, the first person I spoke to said, “Wow, so many people, so few people of color.” My impulse was...