Torah

Mermaids and a talking donkey: A treasure trove of ‘midrashic’ interpretations - review

Zev T. Gershon's '100 Wonders in the World of Torah' includes entries of little-known stories and oddities.

‘BALAAM AND The Angel,’ 1493 woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle.
NEW YORK’S Jewish community marches beneath the banner ‘We shall not be silent’ during the Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry demonstration in protest at the Soviet Union’s treatment of Jewish people, in New York City, in 1975.

Yom Kippur War: How the Book of Isaiah spurred world Jewry to back Israel, refusniks in 1973

RABBI DR. DAVID EBNER: His approach set a yeshiva-wide tone of intellectual rigor combined with warmth, kindness, and compassion.

In fond memory of Rabbi David Ebner: My sharp, sensitive, story-telling rebbe - opinion

 SCRIBES FINISH writing a Torah scroll.

Haftarat Ha’azinu: A song for our time


Parashat Ha’azinu: Between heaven and Earth

Between heaven and Earth lies a sheltering presence, a glimpse of eternity, and the promise of unity beneath the wings of the divine.

‘PORTAL,’ 120 x 160 cm, acrylic on canvas, 2025.

This week's Torah portion contains lessons to learn amid the Yom Kippur Manchester attack - opinion

Ha’azinu calls us to remember history and understand generational change - for Jews, to strengthen our mesorah; for nations, to confront the consequences of their actions before it is too late.

People gather near the scene, after an attack in which a car was driven at pedestrians and stabbings were reported near a synagogue in north Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2025

How radical kindness can renew the Jewish community this Yom Kippur - opinion

In the aftermath of October 7, the Jewish community was at its most united. We were in the so-called “surge”: a renewed desire for community and joining together against our perceived adversaries.

 ACTS OF kindness will stand in as atonement.

Yom Kippur: The end or the beginning?

The Talmud identifies Yom Kippur as one of the two happiest days in the year (along with the 15th of Av).

MIKVEH IN Auckland, New Zealand.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's new Torah commentary is making waves in Israel five years after his death

Sacks, the chief rabbi of Great Britain, is the author of a posthumous volume that is challenging Israel’s top-selling Koren Tanakh.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Parashat Nitzavim: Isaiah on 'hasbara'

If Israel raises its voice with confidence and persistence, its light will break through, its righteousness will be seen by the nations, and its glory acknowledged even by kings.

 SCRIBES FINISH writing a Torah scroll.

'The daughter of kings and queens': A letter to my daughter on her bat mitzvah

'The ya’ara has an aroma I deeply associate with the Land of Israel, and I wanted you to carry that association with you.'

THE WRITER’S daughter Ya’ara Tehila, of whom he is very proud.

Rosh Hashanah: One union

God wants us to be in unity: that we honor one another, and that we respect each other’s wishes and aspirations.

UNITY DOES not mean uniformity of opinion.

'Ascending the Ladder': Career tips from the Bible - review

A skilled Jewish day school, supplementary school, or adult education teacher could structure an entire course based on this book, or more specifically, the chapter titled “Workplace Ethics.” 

CHARLTON HESTON as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 blockbuster film ‘The Ten Commandments.’

Ki Tavo haftarah: Hamas no more

The clash with Hamas is not merely a contemporary conflict – it is part of a divine drama stretching across millennia.

Smoke rises following Israel's strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025.

Parashat Ki Tavo: The basket of first fruits

The world is so beautiful when we look upon it with a good eye; when we bless its creator and are filled with gratitude.

GRAPES GROW in the Tali Vineyard in Moshav Lachish.