Day 2711 - Siyum HaShas: The Talmud Ends, The Talmud Begins

By Salvador Litvak
Published on August 5, 2012

Day 2704 - What is a Soul?

By Salvador Litvak
Published on July 25, 2012

Accidental Talmudist, Day One

By Salvador Litvak
Published on March 1, 2012

Battle of the sexes reaches Talmudic teachings—why can’t girls learn Gemara?

By Amy Klein
Published on October 26, 2006

The question of whether Talmud is indeed part of Jewish learning for girls and women in traditional Orthodox education has come under debate in the last two decades in Orthodox circles.

Mother and Daughter Authors Are Klass Act

By Sandee Brawarsky
Published on May 11, 2006

Sheila Solomon Klass and Dr. in Perri Klass -- mother and daughter co-authors -- don't finish each other's sentences, but they do elaborate on them

Seders: Not Just for Pesach Anymore

By Rahel Musleah
Published on September 22, 2005

Every holiday has its aura. Pesach has a scrubbed cleanliness; Purim, a cookie-dough indulgence, Sukkot, a back-to-nature thankfulness. Rosh Hashanah has its aura, too. For most of us, it's one that begins a season of awe, judgment and repentance.

February 11: A Rally for Israel

By Larry Eisenberg
Published on February 1, 2001

Talmudic sages wondered how King Achav of Israel could have reigned for decades, considering his practice and encouragement of idolatry and every type of sin. They arrived at the answer that at least during his reign there was, if nothing else, unity among the Jewish people. Today we find deep divisions among our people, perhaps nowhere more so than in our attitudes toward Israel and the peace process. It almost makes you wish for the good old days of King Achav.

Jewish Law Cited in Death Penalty Case

By Michael Shapiro
Published on January 6, 2000

A man who will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court next year that his planned execution in Florida's electric chair constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment" can point to a 2,000-year-old Jewish law when he pleads his case.

Rye Humor

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on April 22, 1999

The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Mason, Woody Allen and, of course, Seinfeld. The history of American comedy is the history of America's funniest Jews. But while being Jewish and funny has never been mutually exclusive, comedians in days of yore mostly kept their Jewishness offstage. Times are changing, and with multiculturalism comes a new brand of Jewish comedian.