An interesting discussion has come up in the YWN Coffeeroom regarding women learning Gemara and other such subjects. In stating why women shouldn't learn Gemara, one poster quoted the Torah Temimah*: Girls do not have the intellectual stability and are, therefore, unable to make profound inquries wi...

The J-blogosphere seems to be buzzing about the WCBS News story (sorry, not going to link to it... a simple Google search should find it) from last night regarding infidelity in the hasidic community. While the report addresses the hasidic community in Williamsburg, I would not be surprised at all t...

Hat Tip: A Frum Punk According to Typealyzer*, here's my personality based on my blog: INTP - The Thinkers The logical and analytical type. They are especialy attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding s...

Sometimes I have to wonder if people who peddle "Torah proofs" aren't, in fact, doing more damage than good. They proclaim that they have "scientific proof" that the Torah is divine and then follow it up with arguments that could be called faulty at best and downright loony at worst. Personally, I f...

It seems that the Evolution/Creation debate has broken out in the YeshivaWorldNews coffeeroom. To his credit, the YW Editor has been putting up both pro- and anti-evolution posts. One thing that often amuses me about arguments like this from the Creationist* side is the fact that the Creationists in...

I'm convinced that we need a Jewish version of Snopes. Snopes, for all those who are unaware, is a website that investigates urban legends and tries to determine the factuality of the legend. Sometimes the legend is verified, sometimes it's proven false and sometimes it is undetermined. There has be...

Rabbi Horowitz has a new article in Mishpacha Magazine touting the value of secular education in our community. While most yeshivos in the United States offer a program of secular studies, the attitude in many of them is that secular studies are a waste of time and not important. The kids pick up on...

There is a very famous Midrash on this week's parsha. When Yishmael and Hagar are dismissed from Avraham's house, they end up in the wilderness where the boy begins to die of thirst. As God was preparing to show Hagar where the well was (to save Yishmael's life), the angles angels protested and peti...

E-Kvetcher has a post today about frum people in Chicago who voted twice for McCain in the recent presidential election -- once under their Hebrew name and once under their legal (English) name. I don't know (and E-Kvetcher doesn't tell us) whether this was racially motivated or whether they simply ...

In a previous post, I mentioned that I though the Jewish Philosopher was someone who, well, let's just say that I thought he lived in a different reality than the rest of us. However, after conversing with him further (yeah, I know... I'm a glutton for punishment), I'm starting to become convinced t...