Yeshiva

Across the world, Jews will celebrate the holiday of Purim this year from the eve of March 11 through March 12 with much fanfare and excitement. Families will go from door to door sporting costumes while delivering candy and other foods, and sit down to a lavish meal with friends and relatives later in the day to celebrate the holiday. But far beyond the food and costumes, Purim has a much deeper purpose to it, a lesson applicable to each and every one of our lives. Purim, one of the most…

The Orthodox Exemption Some Jews say Haredi Jews should be exempt from military service in Israel because they need to focus on their religious studies. Some Jews say Haredi Jews should not be exempt from military service in Israel because Halakha commands that all Jews fight in a milchemet mitzvah. Haredi Jews should be required to serve in the Israeli military because Halakha commands it. In Israel, both men and women are required to serve in the Israeli Defense Force, or the IDF. There…

Chiune Sugihara took a stand in history when he made transit visas for European Jews. Thanks to the Jews, Sugihara was able to understand that they needed help. On July 18, 1940, Sugihara woke up from his slumber to a commotion of a hollering crowd outside his house(Pulvers). About a hundred Jewish people had gathered around his house hoping to get visas from him. He had his servants try to calm them down, but eventually suggested to have the crowd send a party of five representatives to speak…

Brief Background Jonathan Lopatin is a former Partner and Managing Director of the Goldman Sachs Group, who retired in 2000, following Goldman’s IPO the previous year. “Jon” had been with Goldman for sixteen years and was a manager of its foreign exchange sales and trading business. He was a colleague, (and friend) of Eric Dobkin. He is also a Jewish scholar having graduated with an MA in Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009, an activist who has served on many Jewish…

The film The Believer, is a film about Danny Balint who is a Jewish boy that becomes a neo-Nazi. He grows up to be an angry, violent guy, attacking Judaism and Jews. Throughout the film, the paradoxical anti-Semitic view of Jewish self-hatred can be seen but along with this, viewers see that as much as Danny hates Jews and Judaism, he cares about the traditions as well. Although Danny kills himself, thus ending the protagonist, the ending of the film is inconclusive. One could argue that Danny…

Often I am asked what makes me a religious Jew. Does being it mean keeping the laws of Kashrut? (Jewish dietary laws) Does it mean keeping the Sabbath and the holidays? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Traditionally, we are taught that a ‘frum’ person is someone who keeps the Big 3: Shabbat, Kashrut, and Mikvah and if you’re single that you intend on following the laws of family purity upon marriage. I grew up in a Modern Orthodox, Zionistic home. My mother’s family has rabbis in our ancestry. My…

Hanukkah, also known as “the Festival of Lights,” is an eight-day Jewish holiday celebrated during the Jewish month of Kislev, which is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar falling between November to late December, starting on the 25th day. This holiday commemorates the purification and rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Greek Syrians, and it is also a time for rededication to the faith. The story of Hanukkah is found in the books of Maccabees I and II…

Throughout the Zionism movement there were many publications written, some written by men and some by women. Through the men’s publications one can see how they portray women during the movement as cold, tough and insensible. And looking at publications written by woman one can see a vast difference in the portrayal of women during the Zionism movement. The Two articles The calf written by Mordechai Ze’ev Feierberg and Burned out written by Mendele Mokher Sefarim were written through a males…

Individuals of Jewish descent have a history of being affected by exile from their homeland. The Israelites claimed Jerusalem during the period of King David, however; beginning in 587 B.C.E. the Babylonians began to exile the Jews. Approximately fifty years later, the Persians allowed the Jews to return to their homeland; however, it was not long before they would be affected again. In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed the 2nd temple and exiled the Jews for the second time. Throughout these times and…

Joseph Green and Konrad Tom's film Mamele depicts a vastly different cultural and family dynamic in a different setting than the dynamic found in traditional Jewish shtetls. Whether it be incorporating Jewish holidays or traditional family roles, producers actively depicted Jewish cultural roots into their films prior to Mamele in 1939. In Mamele, a daughter named Chavchi takes on many household responsibilities after the death of her mother and is consequently given the nickname "mamele," or…