The Chaim Walder saga that has unfolded over the past weeks has created upheaval across the Jewish world, as it must. Walder was one of those profoundly sick people who built trust in order to exploit it in manipulative and destructive ways, shattering an entire community’s sense of trust. There has been a flood of

When Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer Wout van Aert took the 21st and final stage of the Tour de France and Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar won the overall 2021 Tour de France on Sunday, there weren’t many Israeli riders in sight. Even without Israeli riders winning the race, this year’s Tour de France was

Jonathan Pollard is now a completely free man, having finished last Friday his five years of parole following 30 years in jail after pleading guilty to spying on the United States. There are two possible responses to release after such a long captivity. One is to become bitter over the time lost, the life that

Last week, I traveled all over New York and New Jersey, talking to people from Brooklyn to Lakewood about the importance of voting in one of the biggest elections in history. I heard the excitement about the election itself, but I also heard that many people plan not to vote. The excuses were troubling: “My

As fall arrives and the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread throughout the United States, prayers are very much needed, say rabbis across the Jewish spectrum, even if individuals and families cannot make it to synagogue to herald in the new year, 5781. “This is a time when the true focus of prayer and the need

The Orthodox Union said on Tuesday that it will be the leading kosher certification agency in the United Arab Emirates. The leadership of the UAE requested that the Orthodox Union take up the position after it handled kosher food during the visit to the UAE by an Israeli and US delegation last week. Orthodox Union

Top Israeli and American officials arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Monday departing from Tel Aviv aboard an El Al Boeing 737 aircraft and in an unprecedented occurrence flying over Saudi Arabian airspace for the first-ever visit towards normalization between Israel and the UAE. While much of the media’s

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

On the Fast of Esther, thousands of Orthodox Jews joined in communal prayer — in arranged simultaneous times to pray, or by conference calls. At 9:30am EST, several Haredi organizations called for a worldwide Psalm recitation, in response to Agudath Israel’s call to prayer; at 12:30pm EST, the Orthodox Union organized a conference call for

Hundreds gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday to pray for those affected by the coronavirus outbreak and to halt the epidemic. Worshipers recited prayers and Psalms, sang and even danced in a circle, asking God to help in the finding of a cure for the disease, in a ceremony promoted by Chief