Torah

What honoring our parents teaches us about faith, logic, and Judaism

The mitzvah of honoring one's parents is not a narrow religious demand but a foundational moral duty.

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A STATUE of Deborah dated 1792 stands in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Parashat Beshalach's lessons on unity, shared risk, and IDF service

JOSEPH’S TOMB in Nablus.

Parashat Beshalach: The joy of ‘mitzvot’

Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir walks inside the Knesset, on the day US President Donald Trump delivers remarks, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.

Moral, legal issues with Israel’s terrorist death penalty - opinion


Jews cannot confront antisemitism by themselves - opinion

From Joseph and Pharaoh to today’s classrooms, it is clear that antisemitism cannot be fought by Jews alone.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visits Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, at a hospital in Sydney, Australia, on December 15, 2025.

This week in Jewish history: Yearning for Zion

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

PORTRAIT OF Jewish poet Naftali Herz Imber, from The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1920.

Israel’s 'supreme' democracy: Who really decides the nation’s values - opinion

From Barak to today’s High Court, a quiet revolution has ignited a fierce debate over democracy in Israel.

Former high Court president Aharon Barak is seen at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law (IAPL) in Haifa, earleir this month. Arguments over judicial overreach and activism in Israel have been ongoing for years, the writer notes.

Seeing our brothers’ plight: The light Hanukkah demands we bring into the world - opinion

Hanukkah and Vayeshev together reveal that the festival’s light shines only when we open our eyes to our brothers’ struggles and choose loyalty and compassion.

Candles are lit on the eighth night, at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, last Hanukkah. The main idea of the holiday is the spiritual illumination of the public sphere, says the writer.

Art and Torah: A molten menorah and the power of light from darkness

From Joseph’s darkest moments to Hanukkah’s rising flames, exploring how light is born from depth.

‘Molten Menorah,’ by Yoram Raanan, 100x80 cm., acrylic on canvas, 2025.

Parashat Vayeshev: Leadership does not equal influence

Joseph and Judah show that true leadership is built on integrity, responsibility, and lifting others.

People move people; ideas alone rarely do.

Parashat Vayeshev: Bringing hearts closer

The parsha does not show a clash of good vs evil, but a deep disagreement about leadership and the path by which the people of Israel should take.

Most conflicts do not stem from malice but from a lack of genuine understanding.

AMLAT: Guiding young Spanish-speaking women in Israel

The program offers young women from Latin America the opportunity to study Torah in a full-time, structured framework. Of the 450 girls who have participated so far, about 30% have made aliyah.

Alumni of Midreshet Lindenbaum’s Amlat program visit the Kotel.

The Jewish joy of growing older - opinion

'Youth is the most precious thing in life; it’s a shame that it has to be wasted on the young.' – George Bernard Shaw

RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON of Lubavitch at a Lag Ba’omer parade in Brooklyn, 1987.

Parashat Vayishlack: Nuance in an age of absolutism

Experiences that could refine us and mature us are processed too quickly to leave a lasting imprint. Instead of being transformed by life, we merely skim it.

HOW MUCH subtlety can survive in 100 cramped words?