by Ram ben Ze’ev From Screens to Souls: Reclaiming Our Emotional Priorities In an age of constant connectivity, many people find themselves grieving public figures as though they had lost a member of their own household. Social media feeds fill with tears, tributes, and declarations of personal loss. Yet in truth, the person mourned never knew their names, never sat at their table, never shared a moment of genuine life with them. This is not shared life . It is confusion betw

מאת רם בן זאב חייזר קורא תנ״ך בדרכו לכדור הארץ מחזור חדשות אמריקאי יכול להפוך אמירה אגבית ל"גילוי" בתוך פחות משעה, והימים האחרונים היו מקרה מבחן מושלם. ברק אובמה השמיע הערה שנשמעה כ"אישור", הנשיא טראמפ הגיב כאילו נחצו גבולות מסווגים, ואז הסיפור הסלים לדיבורים על שחרור תיקים. לפני ששואלים מה משמעות הדבר עבור התורה, ראוי לומר בפשטות שאין בכך תחליף לראיות, ואין להתייחס לכך כתיאולוגיה. אמירה פוליטית איננה ממצא מדעי. נשיא לשעבר אינו מחויב לדייק, ולנשיא מכהן יש כל תמריץ לשלוט בכותר

by Ram ben Ze'ev Alien Reading Tanakh Enroute to Earth An American news-cycle can turn a throwaway line into a “revelation” in under an hour, and the past few days have been a perfect case-study. Barack Obama made a remark that sounded like “confirmation”, President Trump reacted as though classified boundaries had been crossed, and then the story escalated into talk of releasing files. Before anyone asks what this means for Torah, it is worth saying plainly that none of this

It isn’t enough to study Torah and observe the mitzvot ourselves, we must also merit others (From the teachings of Maran Rabbenu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l)(written by his grandson HaRav Yaakov Sasson Shlit”a) (translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds, United Kingdom) Parashat Terumah It states in the Parashah, “[Separate **] your brother Aaron and his sons from amongst Yisrael [and] bring them close to you, to be Cohanim to Me” (Shemot 28:1). Meaning that Hashem

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Obligation to Read the Megillah: Night and Day When the month of אדר (Adar – joy-filled month) arrives, our service of G-D reaches its crescendo in the reading of the מגילה (Megillah – Scroll of Esther). This is not a custom, nor a sentimental commemoration. It is a binding obligation upon every member of כלל ישראל (Klal Yisrael – the Jewish nation): men and women alike must hear the Megillah twice — once at night and once again by day. The source of this

by Elisheva bas Chana Judaica Art by Rochelle Blumenfeld Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim B’Simcha — Taanit 29a. When the month of Adar enters, we increase our joy. Many of our holidays bring us joy, but none, apart from Purim, affects the whole month. Rashi explains that we must increase our happiness at the beginning of the month of Adar because these days are when the miracles of Purim took place. With senseless hatred defeated, and Pesach entering our minds, we celebrate the da

by Ram ben Ze’ev G-D Is Not a “Jewish Word” — And That Is Precisely the Point A recent article published by Chabad raises the question of whether “G-D” is a Jewish word. The answer, of course, is no. It is English. And that simple fact clarifies far more than it complicates. The Torah was not given in English. The Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself through the language of קדש (kodesh – holiness), through names such as אל (El – Mighty One), אלוה (Eloah – G-D), אלקים (E

by Ram ben Ze'ev Marc Chagall painted the original gouache/oil painting Lot's Daughters (also known as Loth et ses filles) around 1931 in France The account in בראשית (Bereshit) 19:26–38 is not written to shock us. It is written to warn us. Lot was not saved because he was righteous. The Torah states clearly that אלקים (Elokim – G-D as Judge) remembered Avraham and removed Lot from the upheaval. His rescue was in the merit of Avraham. That detail is not incidental; it is cent

Ofsted has today launched a new way for education providers to celebrate and share their inspection report cards with parents, carers and the wider community Example QR code badge. This example links to the homepage of the Find an inspection report website, not to an individual report. New QR code badges have been created for every school, college, training provider and early years setting, which link directly to their individual page on the Ofsted reports website. The Ofsted