Nearly 40 teens from across the United States met virtually to receive training focused on becoming ambassadors for making Jewish communal life more inclusive for individuals with disabilities. The Orthodox Union’s (OU) Yachad, the leading organization for individuals with disabilities, organized the sessions. The program coincides with Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) celebrated

In the coming days, Jews will celebrate the Purim festival, a holiday built on the theme of how everything can instantly be turned upside down. In the original Purim story, a day dedicated to the destruction of the Jews became the day of their triumph, while the gallows prepared for the Jewish leader Mordechai were

Throughout my life, since high school, I had almost idolized Rabbi Dr Twerski zt”l. Here was a man who had the appearance, “levush” (garb), and most importantly, the “heartzik warmth and emotion” of a Chassidic Rebbe, and yet was so fully accomplished, respected, and influential in the secular world. From what I had heard about

Forty three years ago, on January 15, 1977, my father Samuel Hyman Goldstein passed away at the onset of a swine flu outbreak. The government and public health community feared a greater public health crisis and quickly developed, approved and heavily promoted a vaccine. Too quickly: My father died as a result of this vaccine.

In a year that has seen the loss of far too many gedolei Yisrael, we were again stunned last week with the passing of Rav Dovid Soloveitchik, zt”l. Rav Dovid was the last surviving son of the Brisker Rav, Rav Yitzchak Ze’ev Halevi Soloveitchik zt”l, who was also known as Reb Velvel. Rav Dovid represented

No, I am not suggesting that the phrase “כבד לב פרעה” alludes to the disease Covid, a disease that only surfaced in 2019, despite my intentional, and admittedly deceptive, mistransliteration. However, suggesting that phrases and episodes in the Torah refer to specific medical conditions is a centuries-old pastime pursued by rabbis, scholars and physicians, Jew

The pandemic continues to inflict significant harm on our nation and world. The plague has brought illness and death, financial challenge, and emotional distress, and the toll is rising. The arrival of the vaccines has given us reason to be hopeful. However, in order to get maximum participation in the vaccination campaign, this is the

While necessary, wearing a mask is miserable. It is difficult to breath comfortably with a mask on and it is even harder to deliver a speech. And yet, those aren’t the hardest parts for me. Countless times over the last few months I find myself spotting someone across the Shul or in a store, smiling

2020. Glad that’s over? Though we have certainly seen an abundance of challenges, this could be promising for the world of innovation. As a product of the pandemic, many are predicting there will be a myriad of new inventions, ideas, and investment opportunities. While these are predictions in the startup and tech world, we have

Covid-19 has changed everything. The past year has produced a seismic shift in almost every aspect of our lives and will continue to shape our identity for years to come. It is overwhelming to consider how much has changed in less than a year. Among everything else, the pandemic has considerably altered our view of