Religion

Israel’s biggest threats demand unity, not partisan warfare - opinion

Israelis must decide whether politics exists to strengthen the country – or whether the country itself will surrender its fate to partisan warfare.

Israelis attend a protest march against the decision of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire head of Shin Bat Ronen Bar, at the entrance to Jerusalem, March 19, 2025.
Brit milah ceremony 311

The real threat behind Europe’s crackdown on brit milah - opinion

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a banner during a protest against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship in the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, June 12, 2025.

Europe’s Israel policy, the search for a unifying narrative - opinion

Participants attend the annual Israel Day Parade, Sunday, May 31, 2026.

Faith, friendship, and the future of Israel advocacy - opinion


A gift of light and love: A grandmother's tribute to a beloved grandson

While we did not get the big miracle that we all had hoped and prayed for, we were blessed to have many minutes, hours, days, and even weeks of joy and smaller miracles.

YISHAI, ‘OUR sweet pea.

The beauty and frustration of Shavuot at the Western Wall

On Shavuot morning, the prayer groups at the Western Wall are composed of Jews of different stripes and appearances, creating a broader cross-section of Jewish life than is there at other times.

Jews at the Western Wall, 1870s.

Serendipitous gifts are all around us: The invisible threads connecting Israelis in times of loss

In Judaism, there is no such thing as mere happenstance. Everything is viewed as hashgacha pratit (divine providence). 

Caregivers from India in Efrat.

What the Israelites' greatest failure can teach us about today's uncertainty - opinion

Dreams are perfect. Reality is not. Reality demands sacrifice, perseverance, and the courage to confront uncertainty.

 SCRIBES FINISH writing a Torah scroll.

To save brit milah, it's time to end a controversial circumcision practice - opinion

Protecting brit milah means separating the covenant from a risky practice that Jewish law does not require.

US AMBASSADOR to Belgium Bill White shows an image of a ritual circumcision, in Brussels.

Parashat Beha'alotcha: The courage to see beyond

The Menorah in Zechariah’s vision still burns. Its message still endures. And it still calls to each of us: light the flame. Raise it high.

The menorah-inscribed stone door discovered in Tiberias, December 2017

Parashat Beha'alotcha: Know your place

After Pharaoh intensified the Jewish slaves' work, Moses felt that his mission had failed. Out of deep pain, he turned to God and said, “Why have You done evil to these people? Why did You send me?

Reading a torah scroll

From Shavuot to Ramadan: Living in the guidance of sacred scriptures - opinion

Knowledge matters, but what truly defines a person is the ability to translate knowledge into life and action.

A child is carried as Muslims prepare for the holy month of Ramadan in Damascus, Syria, February 18, 2026.

'Agents of Change': American Jews and the transformation of Israeli Judaism - review

From gender roles to religious authority, American-trained leaders transformed key debates in Israeli Judaism.

Rabbi Danny Tropper, founder of Gesher.

Shavuot and Mount Sinai: Why modern Jews still wrestle with the Torah

The debate over Torah from Sinai may depend less on proof than on the condition of the soul.

Scribe Nadav Elhadad writes a Torah scroll at Safed’s Mount Sinai Institute, in Feb.