Judaism

Haftarah: Fear no man and trust only in God

No tyrant, no politician, no ayatollah, nor president can dictate our future. Fear no man, Isaiah is telling us, and trust only in God.

Shabbat candle lighting times for Israel and US

Parashat Shoftim: A king who rules over himself

Two congregations, two opinions as Torahs hit the floor at separate NYC services

Rabbi Jeffrey Fox, left, teaches a class in Jewish law at Maharat, the first yeshiva to ordain women to serve as Orthodox clergy.

Her Jewish grandfather’s shame inspired a prize-winning novel

Sasha Vasilyuk's debut novel, “Your Presence Is Mandatory,” won the $100,000 prize for a story inspired by her father’s father, a Jewish soldier in the Red Army.

AUGUST 25, 2025ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL/JTA

Sasha Vasilyuk’s novel, "Your Presence Is Mandatory," was inspired by the story of her grandfather, right, a Soviet World War II soldier who never talked about the war.

Parashat Re'eh: Divine consolation, both intimate and universal

'The time for consolation is now, and the path to redemption lies before us.'

AUGUST 23, 2025ByMICHAEL FREUND

Zion’s foundations will be laid with sapphires, we are reassured.

Parashat Re'eh: The gift of mercy

This is our ancestral heritage, passed down through the generations, and rooted so deeply that it is part of our very nature.

AUGUST 22, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

COMPASSION & MERCY: Haredi soldiers from the IDF Hasmonean Brigade take part in a beret march after completing seven months of basic and advanced training, at the Western Wall, Aug. 6.

Parshat Re’eh: Being engaged to God

We, the Jewish people, will find the courage to move beyond engagement, to build our home with God in Jerusalem, and to begin a new chapter in our ancient story.

AUGUST 22, 2025ByLEO DEE

PREPARING TO break the glass during a wedding ceremony: It represents a leap of faith; only once the glass is shattered can the covenant be sealed, the writer posits.

Shabbat candle lighting times for Israel and US

See Shabbat times for your area.

AUGUST 22, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

'Beyond Dispute': The limits of legitimate debate – a Jewish approach - review

Israeli peace negotiator and former ambassador to the UK suggests ways to have more productive conversations.

AUGUST 17, 2025ByMARION FISCHEL

PRO-PALESTINIAN protesters shout slogans in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens earlier this week during a declared ‘day of rage’ across the country, jeopardizing Israeli tourism to Greece. ‘Peace is made between enemies who are at least open to making peace with each other,’ the author writes.

Parashat Eikev: Service of the heart

Prayer is one of the foundations of Judaism. A hallmark of the eternal Jew is speaking with his creator...Is it reasonable that such a central mitzvah is not directly addressed in the Torah?

AUGUST 15, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

AT MOUNT SINAI, the Jewish people were metaphorically ‘married’ to God.

Shema Yisrael: The importance of listening and learning in the darkness

To hear – even in the dark. To listen – when we feel silenced. To act – when it would be easier to despair. To love – when hate seems louder. To believe – even now.

AUGUST 9, 2025ByNECHAMA GOLDMAN BARASH

‘SHEMA’ MEANS to hear, to listen, to pay attention, to understand, to internalize, to respond, to obey.

Shabbat ‘Nahamu’: From destruction to redemption

The haftarah of Shabbat Nahamu reminds us that no tragedy is final, no exile eternal. God does not abandon His people, the people of Israel. But comfort is not a passive process.

AUGUST 8, 2025ByMICHAEL FREUND

An illustrative image of a man jumping from a cliff with the word BREAK on it to another cliff with the word BUILD on it.

Parashat Va’ethanan: ‘This good mountain’

What is this “good mountain” Moses refers to, and what is “the Lebanon”?

AUGUST 8, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

An ilustrative image of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.