As Joe Biden was inaugurated today, there has been a lot of concern about increased tension in the world – between near and distant brothers and sisters – stemming from political disagreements. But of course, arguments between siblings are nothing new. A striking midrash highlights this universal phenomenon with several dramatic dramatic examples: “From the […]

When he watches news unfold from Washington DC,  Rabbi Abraham Unger keeps one hand on the US Constitution; the other on his Talmud. “Both are focused on equality, justice and building community,” he says. No one knows that better than Rabbi Unger who holds the novel distinction of being both a political science professor and […]

You don’t have to open up more than the first page of the Shulchan Aruch, Code of Jewish Law to see the importance of sleep in Judaism. How to wake up, how to go to sleep, how much to sleep to get, which position to sleep in, which direction to put your bed, sleep on […]

We always focus on the obvious miracles of Chanukah: the miraculous military victory of a small band of fighters against a might army, the fact that the Maccabees found a small jar of oil in the rubble of the Holy Temple and that that oil burned for eight days, when it should have only lasted […]

What’s the purpose of a miracle? There are of course many answers, including those that are specific to the particular miracle in question. For instance, I recently learned how Abarbanel (15th-century Portuguese commentator) explains the purpose of one particular miraculous moment in the Book of Judges. In Judges Chapter 13, a malach appears to the […]

Dear Jew in the City- What’s the significance of the number eight in the Chanukah story? Thank you, Noam Dear Noam – Sometimes I read a question and I have to ask, “What’s this person really asking?” This is one of those times. The reason I don’t take your question at face value is because […]