Sefirat Haomer and Women’s Leadership — Counting towards a New Reality by Rabbi Kenneth Brander 18/05/2018  “Not only is the teaching of Torah Shebe’al Peh to girls permissible, but it is nowadays an absolute imperative. This policy of discrimination between the sexes as to subject matter and method of instruction which is still advocated …

Ohr Torah Stone is proud and gratified to share that our visionary founder, Chancellor and Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, has been awarded this year’s Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize for Education.   The 2018 Bonei Zion Awards recognize outstanding Anglo Olim who have helped Israel in a meaningful way by encapsulating …

“Rulings devoid of human compassion will bring Orthodoxy to its end” Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, who is due to step down from his position as chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone this summer, explains where the poskim [Rabbinical adjudicators] of our times are wanting, why he himself is such a fervent feminist and answers the question whether the Chief …

Year after Year by Yoni Rotenberg Shevii Magazine – 30/3/2018 The halls are full, the desire for kosher food is up and the students are seeking a meeting with meaning | Community rabbis worldwide tell about the connection to Pesach among Jews, even those who are very far from religion “One year I invited a couple of secular Israeli families …

The Four Emissaries  By Orly Harrari Arutz 7 – 29/3/2018 As part of a new initiative, four diaspora communities who view themselves as Jewish will have a Passover Seder with Israelis. “They want to be part of Judaism” Around the world there are many communities which view themselves as Jewish, even if they are not halakhically [according …

“To spread Torah and make it glorious.” by Chamutal Shoval 21/03/2018 A few weeks ago, I was at a Shabbat meal with new neighbors. As we were getting to know each other, one of the men at the table said that he was in yeshiva, studying the Laws of Shabbat and preparing to take the rabbinate exams. When it was my turn to introduce myself, I smiled …

Makor Rishon – Shabbat Magazine March 16, 2018 Originally published in Hebrew Leaving the Box Behind By Elhanan Nir Will the solution to intermarriage come from cooperation with local Muslim communities? The Straus-Amiel Conference of European Rabbis held in Zurich discussed the Jewish-communal challenge in a time of disintegration With the Polish …

Yediot Aharonot March 13, 2018 Originally published in Hebrew Rabbaniyot against the Chief Rabbinate They are Torah scholars who have been studying Torah and halakha for years * But that doesn’t matter as far as the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is concerned, since it will not let them take the rabbinical ordination exam that concerns topics relating …

‘RELIGIOUS COERCION VS. RELIGIOUS CONVICTION’ BY RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN – JANUARY 29, 2018 By inspiring love, we must attempt to express the glories of Shabbat. And love means accepting with love even those who decide to reject the laws of Shabbat. ‘And the entire nation responded together and said, ‘Everything the Lord has spoken we shall …

Bringing a part of Palm Beach County to Israel By Rabbi Kenneth Brander –  01/23/2018 As I leave my position at Yeshiva University to embark on a wondrous opportunity in Israel offered to me by a true leader, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, I will be bringing a piece of Palm Beach County with me. For Palm Beach County was my incubator, helping to shape …