Torah

Rosh Hashanah 2026: The Jewish people must answer the shofar’s call to unity - opinion

In a year marked by antisemitism and uncertainty, the Jewish community has shown the strength that comes from standing together as one people.

 An illustrative photo of a man blowing a shofar, a ceremonial ram's horn, which is done repeatedly on Rosh Hashanah.
KING DAVID, a detail of the early 16th-century marble statue by Michelangelo,   kept at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy.

From Saul's failure to David's reckoning, 'Human Kingship' examines the dangers of power - review

 THE TWIN Towers burn

‘You are standing today’: A Jewish lesson for America, 25 years after 9/11

WOMEN STAND in prayer at the Kotel.

Israel after Oct. 7: What Moses teaches us about survival and responsibility


Rediscovering an ancient gift: What Nigerian Jews taught me about the meaning of Shabbat - opinion

Where do you begin to explain Shabbat from scratch? I found myself going back to the beginning. Literally. The first Shabbat in the Torah is found in the opening chapter of human existence.

Congregants of an Igbo synagogue gather to pray

This week in Jewish history: Moses ascends Mount Sinai, a massacre shakes Hebron

A highly abridged monthly version of Dust & Stars.

ADELHEID AND Edmond James de Rothschild visit British Mandate Palestine, 1914.

Parashat Shoftim: Wholehearted – and well

“Wholeheartedness is greater than wisdom, but great wisdom is required of a Jew before he reaches the level of ‘You shall be wholehearted with the Lord your God.’” - Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz.

SORCERERS, MAGICIANS, diviners: The Torah rejects them all.

‘We are not going anywhere’: Danon defends West Bank settlements at UN meeting

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon rejected claims that West Bank settlements are obstacles to peace, telling the Security Council that they would remain and continue to grow.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks during a meeting at the United Nations headquartes in New York City, March 20, 2025.

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community feels misunderstood. Here’s why - opinion

If haredim see that they are treated with understanding, respect, and sensitivity, they will more readily change and adapt in the service of the greater good

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) people in Tel Aviv in June.

Beyond the Headlines: Have you heard Elkana Levi’s speech? - opinion

Elkana did not gloss over the pain or the difficulty. He spoke about friends who had been killed, and about his darkest moments.

Elkana Levi giving a speech on gratitude.

Before the High Holidays, the Jewish people must look inward - opinion

With Yom Kippur fast approaching, now is the time for Jews to look inward and ask how one can do better to support one's own nation and peoplehood.

‘MESIRUT NEFESH’: Willingness to give up comfort, time, money, and personal interests for a greater value.

How a Connecticut Torah scroll traveled 50 years, and thousands of miles, to make aliyah - opinion

A closing Connecticut synagogue, a chance Facebook connection, and a retired rabbi helped a Torah scroll dedicated to a young boy complete its journey to Jerusalem.

The sefer torah.

Parashat Re'eh: The tyranny of ‘one’ truth

An age of prophecy should have been an age of clarity. If God spoke directly to humanity, the path forward ought to have been unmistakable.

It takes courage to reject someone who has demonstrated extraordinary gifts.

Parashat Re'eh: The choice to choose

Even those who observe Jewish tradition have areas of choice that they have already conquered, while their struggles lie elsewhere, each person according to their own level and circumstances.

A person is obligated to identify where their own 'point of choice' lies.