When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up...
When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up His Torah Reading? Moshe Kurtz weighs in.
A Yahrzeit & A Pandemic: Thoughts On R. Amital In The Age of...
In commemoration of Rav Amital's tenth Yahrzeit, Joe Wolfson, JLIC Rabbi at NYU, shares how the legacy of Rav Amital inspired his community's humanitarian efforts during the Covid19 pandemic.
From Graduation to Contagion: Jewish Physicians Confront Plague in 1631
Contemporary physicians have been heroic in the battle against COVID-19, but what was it like to be one of a handful of Jewish doctors confronting the Bubonic Plague during the 17th-century in Italy? Prolific medical halakhist and historian Eddie Reichman takes a close look at the four Jewish graduates of the Padua medical school class of 1623.
Contagious Disease, Moral Behavior, and Prayer: Bava Kama Today
How did the Talmud look at plagues? Miriam Reisler offers a close reading of a key halakhic and narrative section of Bava Kama.
Letters to the Editor: Shadal, Hazarat Ha-Shatz, and Modern Orthodox Outreach
Today, we share letters to the editor by Ephraim Chamiel, Steven Gotlib, and Moshe Kurtz.
Making Seder Out of the Zoom Seder Controversy
Shlomo Zuckier surveys and analyzes the debate over Zoom Seders during coronavirus.
The Customs of Sefirah aren’t about Mourning. They are about Quarantine.
Ben Greenfield looks at the similarity between Sefirah observances and quarantine, and suggests a new way to understand the connection.
Third Dose vs. Third World Countries: Halakhah Approaches COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation
The CDC and FDA have recently endorsed booster shots for the Covid vaccine. But there are those who argue that those doses should be allocated to third world countries instead. Sharon Galper Grossman and Shamai Grossman weigh in about what Halakhah has to say about the issue.
The Synagogue after Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity
COVID-19 will unquestionably have long-term impacts on synagogue life well beyond the duration of the pandemic. But what will change, and how can shul leadership best anticipate those shifts so as to position our synagogues for success in the future? Judah Kerbel, rabbi of the Queens Jewish Center and Ramaz peers through the looking glass.
Also the Diseases
At the height of the cholera epidemic in 1831, Hatam Sofer delivered a timely sermon on a perplexing midrash to Parshat Ki Tavo. The take-home, suggests Elli Fischer, is all-too familiar in the COVID era.