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Virtual Talmud

It’s interesting even to be raising the subject of Jewish poverty: So much of the world reflexively associates Jews with wealth, and in some cases great wealth, the sort that leads to ugly displays of conspicuous consumption and one-upmanship at lavish Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties. To some, Jewish poverty may seem like an oxymoron,…

There is a growing gap between rich and poor in this country, which should concern us, as Jews and as Americans. In the olden–i.e., Biblical–days, the gap between rich and poor was regularly realigned. Every seven years, during the sabbatical year, loans were forgiven and land lay fallow so everyone was free to gather what…

Even with all Israel’s political handicaps, its economy has performed remarkably well. Much credit should be given to Bibi Netanyahu for creating a strong business class and attracting foreign investors like Warren Buffet. So it might come as a surprise to many in America that Israel has a poverty problem. As it has been reported,…

In theory Hebrew schools are a great idea. A heavy dose of secular subjects in the morning and a nice light sprinkling of Jewish wisdom in afternoon sounds like a fine balance for the well-rounded Jewish child. But, as we know, theory and practice are two different things. On the ground Hebrew schools are not…

I found Rabbi Grossman’s stories of the successes in her synagogue’s religious school inspiring, even as I found the criteria she used to evaluate success perplexing. Our synagogue’s religious school–a thriving and engaging school run by a dynamic education director–has just finished an envisioning process that invited first the education committee and then congregants (both…

Like most rabbis, I get frustrated at what I wish we could accomplish in our religious school. I wish I could get parents to let the students use the skills they are learning in school–like kiddush and Havdallah–more regularly in their homes. I wish I could get a larger percentage of parents to bring their…

When blogging “for the sake of heaven,” it’s easy to get the last word in when you post right before Shabbos! However, even though a new week has begun, I’m hoping my generous hosts at Beliefnet–and my colleagues who’ve graciously invited me to join their conversation–will extend my opportunity to offer some thoughts. I wrote…

I haven’t had a chance to read Rabbi Jen Krause’s book yet, but I agree with her that the rabbis were the first self-help coaches. I would add that was so because they had the first self-help manual: the Torah. If you think about it, the Torah is really all about two things: relationships and…

Rabbi Jen, I wish you were right about your description of Jewry but the facts on the ground seem to say otherwise: As many have noted there are two sides of Jewry. Rabbi Jen nicely described one side. But in virtually every city around the world, Orthodox Judaism is growing, not steadily, but by leaps…

When I learned how to study the work of the prolific medieval commentator Rashi from the wonderfully prolific Nechama Leibowitz, of blessed memory, in her tiny Jerusalem living room, she would always ask, “What’s Rashi’s question?” (or, more colorfully, as she was quite colorful: “What’s bugging Rashi?”). She was asking us to play an ancient…
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