Talmud

Unnecessary and cruel: Using chickens for kapparot on Yom Kippur violates Jewish values – opinion

The practice has invited widespread scrutiny, even from sages, over the inhuman treatment of livestock. Trigger warning: Some readers might find the disclosed descriptions disturbing

Ultra-Orthodox men line up to partake in the kapparot tradition in Mea She’arim in 2025.
Police officers stand by as ultra-Orthodox men block a road during a protest against conscription into the IDF in Bnei Brak in August.

Is there a halachic basis to refuse to serve alongside a female paramedic? – opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, cast their vote during elections for the Likud Central Committee, at the Jerusalem International Convention Center, Nov. 25, 2025.

Jewish voting: How ancient Jewish tradition helped shape modern democracy - opinion

 Hebrew Typewriter

What Tisha B’Av can teach about the silencing, and creative defiance, of Jewish writers - opinion


Gila Fine: Teaching Talmud with a twist

Gila Fine’s interpretations of the Talmud are kind, inspiring, and relatable for modern women. Let’s hope the men are on board.

 Fine lecturing in Jerusalem

Silence is complicity: What is the right way to speak out? - opinion

Jewish tradition contains this idea as well, that shtika k’hoda’a – a person’s silence can be taken as acquiescence. This leaves us with the question, how do ensure that we are not silent?

Enjoy the silence

Hanukkah: To pretend or to be really religious?

For religious Jews, Judaism’s constant demand to follow Halacha (Jewish law) may give the impression that Judaism depends solely on the need to “observe.”

 LIGHTING THE ‘hanukkiah’ should be a transforming act.

Hanukkah: One last taste of sovereignty

We know what sovereignty tastes like. For centuries, Hanukkah kept that taste alive. We never forgot how Jews were meant to live. Hanukkah would not let us forget. 

 BRONZE OIL lamp uncovered in excavations at the City of David, Jerusalem.

What is the connection between chess and Judaism? - opinion

Some people believe that Jewish chess players use the same way of thinking while playing chess as if they were studying Talmud.

 PLAYERS COMPETE at the Israeli Chess Championship in Safed, last year.

Nancy Pelosi and Rabban Gamliel: A Talmudic tale of succession - opinion

Much like Speaker Pelosi, the Talmud tells us that Rabban Gamliel rules the house of study, with an iron fist, and with a desire for unity. However, Rabban Gamliel takes this desire a step too far.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announces that she will remain in Congress but will not run for re-election as Speaker after Republicans were projected to win control of the House of Representatives, on the floor of the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, November 17, 2022.

The Jewish leaders leading the Jewish people - then and now - opinion

Living in modern Israel is like living in a real-time ongoing Talmudic dispute.

 RIME MINISTER Yair Lapid arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem

What does Judaism think of sports? - opinion

It can be said that as long as it does not come at the expense of other important duties, sports are very much encouraged in Judaism and perfectly legitimate as a hobby.

Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel

Simhat Torah: Why Jews should look in the mirror now

This analysis of a midrashic text is obviously not intended as a comment on or opinion about the recent United States Supreme Court decision.

 ‘THE FEAST of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn, Italy’ (1850) by Solomon Alexander Hart.

Social justice and Judaism: The rabbinic voice can overcome polarization

Issues like immigration policy, criminal justice reform, and fighting poverty involve nuanced thinking, compromise, and the ability to integrate multiple perspectives.

 An image of Stephen Sondheim is shown on a large screen during the ‘In Memoriam’ segment at the 75th Annual Tony Awards in New York on June 12, 2022.