Daniel B. Schwartz, at The Blogs

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Jun 24, 2018, 5:57 PM

Minister Oren: Middle Aged Olim Count Too

Deputy Minister, Michael Oren, recently announced an embryonic plan to financially incentivize Aliyah from America (see here). But he qualified the type of Olim he’s seeking; young ones. As the article states: “When I moved to Tel Aviv I...

Mar 29, 2018, 5:19 PM

Of betrothal and matzah

There is a famous statement in the Talmud Pesachim, that compares the eating of matzah prior to the time of the Seder to having illicit sexual relations with one's betrothed in her father’s home. Most commentators understand this odd...

Apr 23, 2017, 3:18 PM

The Yom HaShoah test

Why he's glad he's taking the Israeli bar exam on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Feb 23, 2017, 6:40 PM

Linda Sarsour’s Trojan Horse

On February 21, 2017, Jews in America and world over awoke to a horrific sight. An historic cemetery in St. Louis was vandalized in an apparent act of anti-Semitism. Over two hundred headstones were overturned. Gratifyingly, public reaction has...

Jan 22, 2017, 5:41 PM

An Open Letter to R. Aryeh Frimer

My friend R. Aryeh Frimer and his brother R. Dov Frimer, as part of their ongoing investigation to the Halachik legitimacy of Partnership Minyanim, recently published a rejoinder to R. Ysoscher Katz's analysis of their book length study of...

Dec 26, 2016, 2:41 AM

I Feel Like Less of an American

When I returned home from services upon the conclusion of Shabbat, this past Saturday night, we lit Chanukah candles. After ushering in the holiday, our first Chanukah in our new home in Rehovot, I was confronted by the news...

Aug 15, 2016, 8:07 AM

The Price of Aliyah — A Letter to My Mother

Dearest Mother, I’m sitting in your dining room, barely two hours after Tisha B’Av’s ending, ever aware that my impending aliyah this coming Wednesday weighs heavily on us both. You, for all your gracious and kind support of this project,...

Apr 18, 2016, 4:04 AM

From Shira Chadasha to Shir Chadash

If one were to ask a student in A Jewish school what the Pesach Seder is about, the answer would center on the Exodus from Egypt. After all, everyone knows that Pesach celebrates the deliverance of the Israelite people...

Apr 8, 2016, 4:56 AM

Intermarriage, and Orthodoxy’s Entirely Wrong Response

This week, Rabbi Seymour Rosenbloom, a retired Conservative rabbi, made a heartfelt argument in favor of his movement allowing its rabbis to officiate at interfaith weddings (see here). The issue is not a new one, and the arguments for...

Mar 21, 2016, 9:24 PM

And Now a Little Purim Torah

I’m sure that people reading this are no doubt aware of the questions concerning the historicity of the Purim story. Proponents of the theory that Megillat Esther is fiction tend to rely on things like the play of words...

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About Me

Daniel Schwarz, an attorney from Rockland County, New York, recently made Aliyah to Rehovot. He's also an avocational chazzan.