“A Rabbi’s Sorrow” Rabbi Shlomo Riskin really thought that it would be different. That those in the seat of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate would be righteous and more tolerant — toward women, converts and even Conservative Jews. Instead, they accuse him of straying from the halakha. by Zvika Klein Makor Rishon 4/08/2017 “If …

The Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership (WIHL) at Midreshet Lindenbaum is delighted to announce that Rabbanit Devorah Evron is joining the program in a directorial capacity, effective September 1, 2017. A graduate of the Halakha Program for Women at Beit Morasha, Evron passed with distinction the exams in all realms of Jewish …

Limitless Love to counter Baseless Hatred: Tisha B’Av 2017 What relevance can a fast marking the destruction of the Temple 2000 years ago possibly have for modern secular Israelis? How can one really be expected to mourn over something one has not personally loved, cherished or revered? This past Tisha B’Av, Ohr Torah Stone’s Yachad Program …

  “There is no Comparison” by Pnina Omer Jerusalem Post Op-Ed –  12/7/2017 Earlier this week, Kan – the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation –  aired a segment called “Trapped Men,” which exposed the issue of men being denied a get (a religious divorce). The report showed that female recalcitrance is a widespread …

“I cannot fall asleep, I keep looking at the photos from this evening’s ceremony and phrases from the various things that were said keep popping into my mind. I see my grandmother’s face before me and my mother’s, and I feel happy, somehow… safe? Because I know that my precious daughter, Lihi, has embraced her heritage over …

The staff of  Yad L’isha: The Monica Dennis Goldberg Legal Aid Center and Hotline undertook 100 hours of fasting in the “Agunot Challenge” (אתגר_העגונות#), a grassroots campaign launched to protest the plight of Zvia Gordetsky, an aguna of 17 years. The 53-year-old Gordetsky, whose husband opted in 2000 to sit in jail …

Ian Piczenik spent this past year as a madrich [counselor] in the Elaine & Norm Darkaynu Program for Men, the only year-in-Israel experience for young adults with special needs.   In his incredible video (which has gone viral on Facebook), he shares what he’s learned from his students – “ten of the most incredible guys I’ve …

“We have a winner!” Congratulations to Dvir Brook, the winner of Efrat’s tenth annual Bible Contest, which was held this year on the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification. Dvir, a student at OTS Derech Avot High School in Efrat, and fellow schoolmate Lior Chacham, who came in third, did Derech Avot proud. …