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Jun 26, 2018, 12:01 AM

The day a 'hand vagina' made this bride blush

Illustrative wedding photo. (JTA)

Or how an Orthodox rebbetzin made this secular Israeli bride blush

Jun 18, 2018, 11:14 PM

The 2,000-year-old synagogue at Gamla, the oldest yet found in Israel.

Under a burning sun, I climb a rocky basalt ridge on the Golan Heights, surrounded by deep gorges, high above the Sea of Galilee, eager to view the ruins of the ancient city of Gamla. There is a fantastic...

Mar 29, 2018, 11:24 AM

This Passover: Freedom to and freedom from

Illustrative: The building of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel in Jerualem. (Flash90)

Israeli Jews are free to do many things, but they are bound by an overreaching government when it comes to religion

Mar 27, 2018, 7:09 PM

Breaking Round Matzah of Idolatry and Rectangular Matzah of Slavery

Passover is called the Holiday of Matzah, the Holiday of Springtime, and the Season of Our Freedom. The shape of round matzah and rectangular matzah teach us about freedom and creative rebirth in springtime. These matzah shapes give us...

Mar 22, 2018, 5:46 AM

March for our lives: how Jewish tradition heals trauma

In 2015, I crafted an ELI Talk about how Jewish ritual supports healing. It resonated at the time with people who felt stressed out by the demands of everyday life, yet the talk is even more relevant today. After all,...

Shayna Abramson

Mar 9, 2018, 11:40 AM

Thanking the Mikveh Ladies

Going to mikveh can be intimidating: You go to a room, take your clothes off, and dunk in a giant public bath. Usually, the only other person in the room is the mikveh lady, who watches to make sure...

Karen Miller Jackson

Mar 7, 2018, 9:51 PM

Jewish Women and Self-Care

International Women’s Day is a good time to celebrate what religious Jewish women have achieved, and at the same time think about the next steps in women’s fulfilment and happiness. Writing from Israel, I know Religious Zionist women who...

Feb 16, 2018, 11:32 PM

Some Good from the Bad

On Wednesday, I was participating in a rabbinic conference in Boca Raton, Florida, just 20 minutes from the high school in Parkland where the terrible shooting took place. As I was listening to a Torah class I received a...

Dec 24, 2017, 3:06 PM

The essence of Judaism and religion — Orthodox (faith) or Orthoprax (good deeds)

There is an ancient debate in the Talmudic tradition concerning the question as to the essence of Judaism and religion – faith or good deeds. Rashi (the great commentator of the 11th century) cites a debate between two great Talmudic...

Leonard Grunstein

Dec 20, 2017, 1:40 PM

Chanukah: Light the Candles; It’s about Doing Good, Not Thinking about It

The celebration of the eight-day holiday of Chanukah centers on the lighting of the Chanukah menorah. The Talmud explains that the holiday of Chanukah is all about the lighting of the Menorah and the miracle of the oil. It describes...

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