It finally stopped raining, the flood waters began to recede, and the sun emerged from beneath the heavy storm clouds that had been obscuring its image for so many days. Houstonians basked in its presence for just a minute. And then it was time to survey the damages and get to work. The immediate need

This past week, Alexander Rapaport, the director of Masbia soup kitchen, supported his Yemeni neighbors in protesting President Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. In response, he lost donors, including one who wrote, “After seeing…that you protested President Trump’s executive order, and thus shamefully sided with those who are putting American lives

The recent frenzy over the billion dollar plus Powerball prize raises a serious question about the halachic and moral viability of lotteries. There is more to discuss than just the greed, which we addressed in the past. We must remember that until relatively recently, lotteries were illegal in most states and were instead run by

Today we recited Baruch Matir Asurim “Blessed be the One who frees the captive”—found within morning prayers—with extra appreciation. Jonathan Pollard is a free man. In fact, according to Tablet Magazine, he was spotted with his wife, Esther, in New York City only hours after leaving the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, North Carolina. Imprisoned

Jonathan Pollard, the American spy for Israel sentenced to life in prison in 1987, is due to be released on parole on Saturday, 30 years after his arrest. The former U.S. Navy analyst’s exit from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina (where he reportedly befriended Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff), follows three decades of intrigue

Commenting on the tragedy of the Holocaust, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach once said, “It’s not just the number six million. We lost so many holy people.” These words kept circling in my mind the last few days… “Its not just the number—we lost so many holy people.” The media reported: “Four people murdered in two terrorist

Continued good news for the modest-dress conscious, tzniut is creating waves. The Wall Street Journal reports that a growing trend in bathing suits for women is the rise of more modest swimwear. The article, written by Lucette Lagnado (who Jewish readers may remember as the author of “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit”), is

  With a $39 million dollar check from Microsoft, fortunate are those to be on the receiving end of Shloma Baum’s ma’aser check. The Satmar Chassid from Kiryas Joel recently sold FieldOne Systems, his field services management company, to the industrial giant. An article on Geektime, a newsblog dedicated to the fields of science and

That headline probably made you wonder, didn’t it? The UK’s Jewish Chronicle has the scoop on the woman who kept Britain’s Jewish community safe for the last 25 years. Until her recent retirement, Carol Laster was head of the Community Security Trust, the organization tasked with providing security for Jewish communities in England. She kept

Home renovation usually entails picking paints, buying furniture, and dealing with contractors. For the Shimshoni family living in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood, it meant calling in archaeologists after stumbling upon a perfectly preserved 2,000-year-old ritual bath under their living room. Last week the Israel Antiquities Authority finished excavating the subterranean bath, which archaeologist Amit Reem