News

Article summaries generated by AI:

• RM Taragin – The State of Hashem in Our World: 5787 – Rosh Hashanah invites evaluating where Hashem’s presence became more visible or concealed this year, highlighting hostages’ return, victories, renewed faith, antisemitism, division and AI-driven falsehood

• Why saying ‘L’shana Tova’ on Rosh Hashanah may not be the correct phrase – “L’shana tovah” is grammatically incomplete without a following verb, while “shana tovah” is correct; nevertheless, shortened greetings are common and understandable

• Judge shields Maryland synagogue from gun restrictions in time for High Holidays – a federal judge temporarily allowed licensed members of one Orthodox Maryland synagogue’s volunteer security team to carry handguns inside the synagogue before Rosh Hashanah

• IDF prepares for High Holidays: ‘Goal is for shofar to reach every corner’ – the IDF Officers School is preparing shofar access, sukkot, four species, prayer, Torah and spiritual programming so soldiers can observe the holidays wherever deployed

• Job had questions, history gave him ‘patience’ – the familiar “patience of Job” is largely a Christian and English-language tradition; Jewish readings emphasize Job’s mourning, protest, questioning and evolving response to suffering

Article summaries generated by AI:

• OU, JFNA and Prizmah launch national fund to facilitate tax breaks for day school tuition – OU, JFNA and Prizmah created a national scholarship organization enabling taxpayers to direct a new $1,700 federal credit toward Jewish day schools.

• The hidden Jewish law woven into your clothes – Shatnez testing is growing amid complex global textile production; the OU recently convened testers, who inspect hidden garment components that labels often omit

• This could have significant Torah applications – How a new tool in Lithuania helps people read letters from their Jewish ancestors – a new Lithuanian AI tool transcribes historical handwritten Yiddish and Hebrew, helping families recover ancestral letters and researchers unlock previously inaccessible Jewish archives

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Cute AI tool – Simanim Wordplay – Multilingual Rosh HaShanah Auspicious Foods – a multilingual tool generates Rosh Hashanah simanim by pairing foods with wordplay, themes and accompanying yehi ratzon formulations

• This Rosh Hashanah, let gratitude Donald Trump grievance, anger, and political division – Rosh Hashanah offers a corrective to political grievance: cultivate gratitude, humility and appreciation of God, others, Jewish civilization and Israel’s achievements

• ‘Come Home’: Chabad Emerges as Fortress of Jewish Life on Campus in Post-Oct. 7 World – since October 7, Chabad has become a major campus refuge, drawing record participation by combining Jewish safety, community, traditional practice and welcoming relationships

• I keep saying this about data on the Orthodox Jewish community: look at the methodology – The best defense against the dangers of fake data – Jewish organizations should strengthen data literacy by routinely asking who produced research, how it was designed, sampled and analyzed before relying on findings

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Surviving 9/11: Four Jewish New Yorkers Remember That Day – four Jewish New Yorkers recall surviving 9/11, including a Hatzalah volunteer, describing providence, trauma, communal solidarity and lasting religious and personal impact

• 9.6 tons of honey | How the IDF is preparing Rosh Hashanah meals for troops – the IDF prepared thousands of Rosh Hashanah field packages and massive quantities of holiday foods to support troops serving across multiple active fronts

• When synagogues mourned Robert E. Lee – Southern Jewish communities mourned Robert E. Lee after his death, reflecting Confederate loyalties and memories of his accommodation of Jewish soldiers’ religious observance

Article summaries generated by AI:

• In the Room Where it Happened: An Interview with Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff – Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff recalls hearing Kol Dodi Dofek in 1956 and how Rav Soloveitchik’s Religious Zionism shaped American Orthodoxy and inspired aliyah

• Apparently there still are some Jews in Manhattan – He went to a different Manhattan synagogue every week. Here’s what it taught him. – a year visiting nearly 50 Manhattan synagogues revealed striking diversity in worship, community and culture, alongside broad hospitality, belonging and concern for Israel

• Jerusalem court gives rabbi 18 years for sex offenses against followers – Jerusalem rabbi Moshe Yazdi received 18 years in prison for raping two followers by deception, exploiting religious authority and claims of divinely mandated “spiritual corrections”

Article summaries generated by AI:

• RM Taragin – The Reach of Areivut – Areivut expands Jewish responsibility from individuals and communities to national and historical obligations, while demanding humility about imposing religious convictions on others

• Yeshiva heads slam jailing of Givati soldiers: ‘A disgrace’ – Religious Zionist yeshiva heads condemned imprisoning Givati soldiers who consulted rabbis over halakhic concerns, warning the punishment harms motivation, morale and respect for tradition

• First Kosher Community Fridge In The U.S. Dedicated To Slain Hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin – a Skokie Orthodox volunteer group dedicated America’s first kosher community fridge to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, providing anonymous, dignified food assistance to observant Jews and others

• Will Hollywood Embrace Religion? Young People Want Spiritual Content – young people want Hollywood to portray religion and spirituality more authentically and complexly, with characters who wrestle seriously with faith rather than embody stereotypes

Article summaries generated by AI:

• RJ Joseph – Praying for You in the Month of Elul – Elul calls us to expand our sense of self, praying not merely for ourselves but for family, community and all of Israel.

• Chief Rabbi Demands: “Revoke Disciplinary Proceedings Against Givati Soldiers” – Israel’s Chief Rabbi urged the IDF to drop proceedings against Givati soldiers who refused mixed-gender transport, citing religious accommodation and national unity

• IDF admits: Shabbat training exercise was a mistake – the IDF acknowledged that a Givati training exercise held on Shabbat lacked operational necessity, violated soldiers’ religious lifestyle and bypassed the brigade rabbi

• Yes, they will multiply – as Haredi society grows, it must assume greater responsibility for Israel’s economy, security and welfare while preserving its religious distinctiveness

• RA Males – How to Get Kicked Out of Camp and Remain Religiously Intact – Part I – a teenage yeshiva graduate recounts being unfairly expelled from summer camp after a group outing, attributing his punishment partly to lacking influential connections

• RA Males – How to Get Kicked Out of Camp and Remain Religiously Intact – Part II – after being mistreated by a rabbinic camp director, positive relationships with exemplary rabbis helped preserve religious commitment and distinguish Judaism from individual failures

Article summaries generated by AI:

• HaRav Dov Landau And HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch Issue Strong Letter Against “Musical Selichos” Events – Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch urge avoiding musical Selichos, calling them entertainment that undermines teshuvah and can breach kedushah and tznius

• Why Toronto’s Orthodox rabbis won’t officiate MAID funerals or provide burial plots – Toronto’s Orthodox rabbinical council will not officiate at funerals or provide cemetery plots for MAID patients, aiming to deter medically assisted death

• Y Medad – The dire drive for the Diaspora – an opinion argues that Jewish anti-Zionists who elevate Diaspora over Israel distort Jewish history and, knowingly or not, strengthen antisemitic forces

• RIETS Launches Graduate Program in Business Ethics and Halakha – RIETS is launching an online master’s and certificate program applying halakhah to contemporary business ethics, including finance, real estate, sales, management and workplace issues

Article summaries generated by AI:

• Could America ever have a Chief Rabbi? – an argument for creating an American chief rabbi or rabbinic council to provide unified Jewish representation amid antisemitism, despite America’s denominational diversity

• Haredi recruits speak about enlisting in IDF: ‘This is where I belong’ – Haredi recruits and families describe choosing IDF service, including combat roles, while insisting they can preserve and even strengthen their Haredi religious identity

• ‘It wasn’t an operational mission; it was just for the sake of confrontation’ – friends of jailed Hesder soldiers allege commanders repeatedly created avoidable religious conflicts, including a Shabbat training exercise and an APC with a female paramedic

• Soldiers jailed after refusing to ride in APC with female medic – sixteen Givati soldiers were jailed after refusing to board an APC with a female paramedic, prompting criticism from rabbis, politicians and Hesder institutions

• When Jewish Prayer at Home Becomes Municipal Offense – University Heights targeted Orthodox home prayer with zoning enforcement; the Supreme Court will consider whether First Amendment plaintiffs must exhaust municipal land-use procedures before suing

• What if America’s religious decline has been overstated? – an argument that American religious decline is overstated: many “Nones” retain spiritual beliefs, religious switching is misunderstood and surveys substantially undercount congregations

• This ancient Jewish melon is making its American culinary debut – Jewish farmers are reviving qishut, an ancient cucumber-like melon described in Torah and Talmud, through selective cultivation; it is now entering American kitchens

Article summaries generated by AI:

• RM Taragin – Word Traps – Language shapes religious identity; Orthodox Jews should scrutinize labels like “ultra-Orthodox,” “Olam HaTorah” and “lomdei Torah,” especially amid divisive IDF conscription debates

• After the Agri Star Fire: Will There Be Enough Kosher Meat This Yom Tov? – Agri Star resumed poultry and beef shechita after July’s devastating fire. OU Kosher expects no resulting Yom Tov meat shortage, though prices remain high

• Not the first time scientists have entered the conversation – When does Shabbat end? This astrophysicist has a novel answer – a Conservative-synagogue attendee and astrophysics Ph.D. candidate developed a model suggesting Shabbat often ends about ten minutes later than conventional calculations

• Just Made Aliyah? Six Tips for Your First Year – practical advice for new olim: seek help, stay positive, build friendships, improve Hebrew, manage expectations and create meaningful moments while recognizing Hashem’s providence