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halacha
From the frontpiece of Shulhan Arukh, the Code of Jewish Law. (Wikipedia)
March 21, 2018, 1:55 pm
The Rabbinate won’t let me take its exams
By not letting us female students of Shabbat, kashrut, and more establish our expertise, the rabbis quash the Torah
By Chamutal Shoval
The building of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel in Jerusalem. (Flash90)
March 16, 2018, 5:21 am
Outcry after Chief Rabbinate bars women from exam on Jewish laws
Orthodox women threaten lawsuit after request to take test on family purity rejected for no apparent reason; activist calls move 'illegal'
By JTA
Illustrative: Yeshiva University’s Chag HaSemikhah ordination celebration, in March 2010, feted 200 or so rabbis who had been ordained in the previous four years. (Yeshiva University/JTA)
March 13, 2018, 1:30 pm
When Yeshiva College gags women it is my business
Blocking a female student from teaching Torah because men might hear her affects the whole Modern Orthodox world
By Deborah Klapper
A rack of prayer shawls at Congregation B’nai Israel shows the unique style of tzitzit used by Karaite Jews. (David A.M. Wilensky)
March 11, 2018, 2:36 pm
Are Karaites more Jewish than Jews?
If Moses arrived in a time machine, he'd surely recognize more Karaite practices than rabbinic ones
By Bill Slott
Moses on Mount Sinai, painted circa 1895-1900, by Jean-Léon Gérôme. (Wikimedia Commons)
March 9, 2018, 1:24 pm
Who still sees the wonder of Judaism?
Religion is the art of knowing what to do with amazement and how to protect it from complacency
By Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Illustrative: Danish soldiers guard the synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 29, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / SCANPIX DENMARK / Mads Claus Rasmussen)
February 23, 2018, 11:49 am
Should synagogue-goers be armed?
Jewish law requires that we protect ourselves; to do so responsibly means strict and effective weapons-training
By Shammai Engelmayer
Cover of Jewish Law as Rebellion, by Nathan Lopes Cardozo. (courtesy, Johnny Solomon)
February 15, 2018, 12:32 pm
Jewish law — far more than a dry, unbending code
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo faults halacha handbooks for a lack of legal creativity; he misses the mark (review)
By Johnny Solomon
An exhibit at'Mamzerim, Labeled and Erased' at the 2017 Jerusalem Biennale. (Nurit Jacobs-Yinon)
From the WebFebruary 14, 2018, 4:48 pm
In modern Israel, being born a ‘mamzer’ can lead to a life of secrecy and stigma
The New York Jewish Week: An in-depth dive into the little-known ancient Jewish law that still has very contemporary impact
By Michele Chabin
Students and teachers from Seminar Ha'kibbutzim protest against the deportation of African asylum seekers, in Tel Aviv, January 24, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/ FLASH90)
February 11, 2018, 3:22 pm
Israel must protect its foreigners
Both Judaism and democratic values demand that we treat African migrants humanely, for they too are created in the image of God
By Benjamin Lau
Jewish Observer, 1984. Agudas Yisroel, under the auspices of the Moetzes Gedoliei HaTorah, continues to include pictures of women in its publications. (Courtesy, Leslie Ginsparg Klein)
February 2, 2018, 12:30 pm
Women’s faces banned from Haredi press? Not true
Mishpacha magazine claims rabbis forbade publishing women's photos 70 years ago -- the pictures say otherwise
By Leslie Ginsparg Klein
Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore stands behind his wife Kayla Moore as she speaks during a campaign event at Jordan's Activity Barn on December 11, 2017, in Midland City, Alabama. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)
January 11, 2018, 11:35 am
To Roy Moore’s lawyer: You’re Jewish, come home
​A rabbi's message to Christian Jews: Judaism is a family -- hard to get into, even harder to leave
By Elchanan Poupko
Illustrative. A modest dress by Avec Les Filles. (Courtesy)
January 8, 2018, 1:32 pm
When modest dress cloaks abuse
Time to discard the distorted notion that girls are responsible for male self-control
By Yael Shahar
Illustrative. (via Shutterstock)
January 5, 2018, 12:51 pm
Death penalty contradicts Judaism
If we start with terrorists, we risk cheapening human life, and degenerating to a new moral low
By Naftali Rothenberg
Yonatan Razel, with masking tape over his eyes, at a Jerusalem concert for women on December 3, 2017 (Hadashot news screenshot)
December 5, 2017, 3:36 pm
Seeing through the duct tape
A singer who took an extreme measure to avoid seeing women dance violated the spirit of Jewish law
By Leah Aharoni
December 1, 2017, 3:06 pm
The Torah is no way to excuse abuse
A forthright look at how Jacob treated women and the Jewish law that makes it clear he did wrong
By Shammai Engelmayer
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