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

Responding to the challenges that many smaller Orthodox Jewish shuls are experiencing in engaging and growing their communities during the pandemic, the Orthodox Union’s Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue & Community Services recently convened rabbinic and lay leadership from more than 21 smaller Orthodox communities to virtually discuss and collaborate on strategies

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving during a pandemic? The medical, financial, social and emotional challenges, coupled with the stresses we are experiencing within civil society, have made this a hard time to focus on our blessings. How can we express gratitude at a time of such difficulty? Somehow we must. Our country is not in

The coronavirus pandemic has made it even more difficult to expect parents alone to bear the huge costs of educating their children. During the past few months, online instruction has become our new normal. This critical innovation has salvaged our children’s education, but it’s inferior to in-person instruction and requires a higher level of parental

“There are no Jews in Morocco; there are only Moroccan citizens.” This was how King Mohammed V of Morocco responded to the Vichy government of France to the request to turn over Jewish citizens. “I do not approve of the new anti-Semitic laws, and I refuse to associate myself with a measure I disagree with,”

Anti-Semitism has been a torment that Jews have been forced to reckon with for centuries. However, its manifestations both in the United States and abroad are alarming for a new reason: the degree to which the mainstream of civil society — politicians, media, academics, public intellectuals — has seemingly tolerated, without loud and sustained outcry,

OU Executive Vice President Allen Fagin spoke with Nachum Segal about the latest happenings around the OU. He recapped the Semichas Chaver Program siyum at Torah New York and previewed Simchat Torah Together 5780, All Daf, a digital platform poised to revolutionize Daf Yomi learning, and much more.

Five years ago, IDF 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin was abducted by Hamas and was tragically killed in the ensuing firefight as IDF forces tried to rescue him. Since then, Leah and Simcha Goldin, Hadar’s parents, have tried desperately to secure the return of the remains of their son so that he might have a proper

Here’s an odd little tidbit: Nancy Kerrigan is one of my heroes. This is an unusual statement for a variety of reasons. First of all, I care precious little for sports in general. I don’t watch the Olympics. If I were to rank all the sports that I don’t care about, figure skating would probably

It’s been big news: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor – the singer more popularly known as Lorde – canceled a planned concert in Israel because of flak she had been receiving from fans. Reaction has been mixed. On the one hand, the Forward ran an op-ed entitled “Thank You, Lorde, For Standing Up For Palestinian Human