Why a Good, Close Shave Is Like a False Messiah
A verse in Leviticus prohibits shaving. A leading Biblical scholar says electric shavers are ok. So, where can a recent Yeshiva escapee go for a good shave — and what razor is it ok for him to use?
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Be a Mensch
Sometimes in life, if you don’t get a barrel of gold, you should be satisfied with a salted herring. During his ill-fated time in Yeshiva, Michael Orbach learned the meaning of that proverb — the hard way.
Sex Abuse Witness May Have Been Paid To Testify
A landmark conviction of a prominent member of Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox community for sexual abuse faces possible reversal following the indictment of man charged with having bribed a witness to testify against the abuser.
Cuba’s Remnant Rediscovers Religion
The hubbub surrounding Cuba’s small Jewish community these days does not faze Yakob Berezniak Hernandez. Sitting behind a desk crowded with a typewriter, several cans of Lieber’s tomato paste and piles of loose foreign change, Hernandez, of Havana’s Adath Israel synagogue, waved away inquiries about Alan Gross, the 61-year-old American Jewish contractor sentenced to 15 years in prison March 15. Gross was found guilty of seeking to clandestinely distribute Internet satellite communications equipment to Cuba’s Jewish community on behalf of United States Agency for International Development.
Questions for Hikind at Rally for Victims
It was at the very end of his solidarity rally for Orthodox victims of sexual abuse that the tensions beneath the surface of Assembly member Dov Hikind’s approach to the problem boiled up.
Social Activism, Modern Orthodox-Style
It was a typical crowd for a Yeshiva University student event: long skirts and long sleeves for the girls, yarmulkes and tzitzis for the boys.
Reclusive Syrian Jews Denounce Hebron Eviction
The recent eviction of Israeli Jewish settlers from a contested building in Hebron has provoked a loud and angry retort from the usually publicity-shy Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn.