Dimensions in Chumash: Bereishis * Shemos Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein Mosaica Press 534 pages As editor of the OU Torah web site, literally dozens of shiurim and divrei Torah cross my virtual desk each week and, baruch Hashem, I pick up a lot of Torah through osmosis. But as much as I would like to, the

The Shakespeare Haggadah Martin Bodek 200 pages Post Hill Press, 2022 A few years ago, I reviewed Martin Bodek’s first Haggadah, The Emoji Haggadah. Written completely (and I do mean “completely!”) in emojis, I found the book to be impressive in that he could actually accomplish such a feat, as well as a fun and challenging

Even if you haven’t seen it, there’s a very good chance you’ve read about it. I’m referring, of course, to the now-infamous Peloton commercial. In the ad, a man surprises his wife with a Peloton stationary bike for Christmas. The woman is elated and starts chronicling her fitness journey with daily cell-phone videos. At the

Content warning: This article does not contain jokes or pop culture references. Rather, it discusses death, bereavement and, in particular, when a person takes his or her own life. (As discussed in a previous article, I will endeavor to minimize the number of occurrences of the word “suicide.”) Time magazine reported this week that the

Non-kosher restaurants aren’t usually my “beat” but the world is losing its collective mind over a chicken sandwich and I think we should talk about it. First, some background. In August, Popeyes (no apostrophe; a fast-food chain) debuted a fried chicken sandwich, which created a frenzy. Customers tore through a two-month supply of the sandwich

Explorations Expanded: Sefer Bereishit Rabbi Ari D. Kahn Kodesh Press 350 pages There are many, many contributors whose work appears on OU Torah in the form of written divrei Torah and audio/video shiurim – so many that no one person could possibly follow all of them. (This is true even if that person happens to

A Theology of Holiness Alec Goldstein Kodesh Press 258 pages Chapter 8 of this book starts with a quote from Socrates: “What is piety? That is an enquiry which I shall never weary of pursuing.” That quote might as well have come from the author given the origins of this book. While in Yeshiva University,

There was a movie released this year called Official Secrets, which I haven’t seen and don’t intend to see. It stars a bunch of people I’ve never heard of and Keira Knightley, whom I’ve heard of but never seen anything she was in. (IMDB says she was in The Phantom Menace. I did see that

I usually write about matters of Jewish thought but, given my background in linguistics, my pedantic personality and my tendency to use words like “pedantic,” I occasionally write about things like grammar, spelling and punctuation. I must not be alone in such interests because my column on the Oxford comma was surprisingly popular. When I

There is a certain Jewish activist organization that opposes Israel’s “occupation” of the West Bank and Gaza. The week of parshas Shoftim, this organization tweeted: This shabbat is Shabbat Shoftim. That parsha contains the enduring quote ‘tzedek, tzedek tirdof–justice, justice shall you pursue” Shabbat shalom to everyone who pursues justice, too Many, many people had