I have recently been told that the Skverer Rebbe has made a Takana – a ruling for his Chasidim that limits the amount of money they can spend on Shtreimels - the furry Chasidic hat. If he finds that his Chasidim continue spending wasteful sums of money on them he will stop wearing one himself. I a...

[snippage] FWIW, it's not consistent with my experience. But maybe that's due to a sample that's too small, or too unrepresentative of the Jewish population in the U.S., or southern Illinois. Though we are coming at this backwards. More significant would be knowing that a high percentage (or a low...

You seem to think I'm a Republican. Bzzzt!! Thanks for playing. You also seem to think that "Repugnicatn" and "Repugnicants" were typos, and trivial ones. An odd conclusion, that. Google tells me that "Repugnican" is a pejorative term for a type of Republican. Whoopie. ...

The holiday of Purim for me was once synonymous with debauchery, chaos and wilding. Obviously as I matured in the thirtysomething adult that I am today getting rip roaring drunk until I was unable to distinguish between good and evil became a less of a priority. I was thinking last night about my pr...

What a far cry from what was said at an Agudah conference condemning blogs a few years ago: “Blogs. That’s what’s going to change it,� Blau said. “There are no secrets in the world of the Internet. You can’t control it, you can’t stop them.� That amazing statement was made by Rabbi Y...

Jews need reassurance right now that the agenda represented by the renewed civil liberties movement in Britain is for them, writes Keith Kahn-Harris. They represent a powerful resource for change, but fear is holding them back....

Brett and I are excited to announce the next step for the Rebelution. We’re working on a companion book to Do Hard Things, due to hit the shelves next spring. If Do Hard Things was the manifesto of the movement, we want this to be a handbook or field guide for rebelutionaries. That’s why...

One of the most poignant responses to the post by Yossi Ginzberg was from a woman who is a living example of a malaise in the Torah world. (I hate that word malaise – but unfortunately it’s appropriate). Not because her experiences or her husband’s are the norm. They are probably not. But neit...

A newe study looked at five of the most problematic invasive weeds in the arid Western U.S. The conclusion: global warming will force three of them to retreat. But two, including the hated and prickly yellow starthistle, will expand their range northward as winters get warmer. They also have toleran...

I think my allergies are flaring up. Or my sinuses. Or maybe I have a cold. I'm really not sure. Being able to tell the difference must be the true benchmark for adulthood. I'm not there yet. I'll tell you my symptoms and maybe the adults out there can diagnose me: Headache similar to caffeine withd...