Torah

Love at 85, 93: Rosh Hashanah romance that began at shul

A Rosh Hashanah moment in shul sparked a late-life romance in Jerusalem’s French Hill.

Rabbi Hayyim Halpern and Margie Tutnauer
Piano

Parashat Mishpatim: All or nothing

The Knesset building

Parashat Mishpatim: The long search for moral society

Rabbi Kalman Ber attends the second round in the elections of for the new Chief Ashkenazi rabbi, at the Chief Rabbinate headquarters in Jerusalem, October 31, 2024.

Chief Rabbinate opens certification exams to women after High Court ruling


Parashat Vayigash: Sharp emotional transitions

The Torah describes the emotional upheaval, the sharp transition from deep sorrow to astonishment and joy, when Jacob discovers that Joseph is alive and even holds a senior position in Egypt.

'The Recognition of Joseph by his Brothers,’ by Peter von Cornelius, 1817.

Hatred of Jews so often fixates on the Land of Israel - opinion

Hatred of Jews has taken many forms, but it has always returned to one target: the Jewish people’s bond to the Land of Israel.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a banner during a protest against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship in the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, June 12, 2025.

Jews cannot confront antisemitism by themselves - opinion

From Joseph and Pharaoh to today’s classrooms, it is clear that antisemitism cannot be fought by Jews alone.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visits Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, at a hospital in Sydney, Australia, on December 15, 2025.

This week in Jewish history: Yearning for Zion

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

PORTRAIT OF Jewish poet Naftali Herz Imber, from The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1920.

Israel’s 'supreme' democracy: Who really decides the nation’s values - opinion

From Barak to today’s High Court, a quiet revolution has ignited a fierce debate over democracy in Israel.

Former high Court president Aharon Barak is seen at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law (IAPL) in Haifa, earleir this month. Arguments over judicial overreach and activism in Israel have been ongoing for years, the writer notes.

Seeing our brothers’ plight: The light Hanukkah demands we bring into the world - opinion

Hanukkah and Vayeshev together reveal that the festival’s light shines only when we open our eyes to our brothers’ struggles and choose loyalty and compassion.

Candles are lit on the eighth night, at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, last Hanukkah. The main idea of the holiday is the spiritual illumination of the public sphere, says the writer.

Art and Torah: A molten menorah and the power of light from darkness

From Joseph’s darkest moments to Hanukkah’s rising flames, exploring how light is born from depth.

‘Molten Menorah,’ by Yoram Raanan, 100x80 cm., acrylic on canvas, 2025.

Parashat Vayeshev: Leadership does not equal influence

Joseph and Judah show that true leadership is built on integrity, responsibility, and lifting others.

People move people; ideas alone rarely do.

Parashat Vayeshev: Bringing hearts closer

The parsha does not show a clash of good vs evil, but a deep disagreement about leadership and the path by which the people of Israel should take.

Most conflicts do not stem from malice but from a lack of genuine understanding.

AMLAT: Guiding young Spanish-speaking women in Israel

The program offers young women from Latin America the opportunity to study Torah in a full-time, structured framework. Of the 450 girls who have participated so far, about 30% have made aliyah.

Alumni of Midreshet Lindenbaum’s Amlat program visit the Kotel.