Rabbi Jay Michaelson is a contributing columnist for the Forward and for Rolling Stone. He is the author of 10 books, and won the 2023 New York Society for Professional Journalists award for opinion writing.
Jay MichaelsonContributing Columnist
By Jay Michaelson
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Opinion What Jewish law says about Dianne Feinstein, Bernie Sanders and how old is too old
Respect for our elders is a central value. So is looking out for their best interests.
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Opinion Our parents shunned Volkswagen and Mercedes — is it time for Jews to give up their Teslas?
The car should be a model of innovation; with Elon Musk, it's a symbol of conspiracy theories and antisemitism
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Opinion Why this rabbi isn’t celebrating (or dismissing) the latest Trump indictments
Jewish tradition venerates the rule of law as holy — let's treat it with some respect.
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Culture Hey Donald Trump, Israel called — they want their ancient oil lamps back
Exactly how did historic artifacts wind up in Mar-a-Lago, and what do they tell us about the indicted former president?
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Opinion What Jewish law says about balancing free speech and public safety in the internet age
These days, the problem isn't always too little free speech; sometimes, it's way too much
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Culture Let the world’s greatest expert on haggadot help you choose your haggadah this year
For 14 years now, I’ve reviewed haggadahs for this publication. Often, I find they illuminate developments in the Jewish world, such as growing independence, creativity, fragmentation, and reassessment of ritual and liturgical forms. This year’s crop, though, showed me something about myself. Probably the most significant Haggadah published this year is Marcia Falk’s “Night of…
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Culture How the pandemic freed me from the neurosis-inducing rules of Passover
For my doctoral dissertation, I wrote on a much-misunderstood 18th century heretic named Jacob Frank. Yet I hadn’t really considered the relevance of Frank’s antinomianism – the belief that transgressing the law is a religious or ethical duty – to my own life. Until this year. Though Frank is often associated with transgressive sexuality and…
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Culture Your comprehensive guide to choosing a new haggadah this year
Well, here we are again, still in Egypt. Not really — vaccinations are proceeding apace, and there are good reasons to be hopeful that next year’s Seder will be, if not in Jerusalem, then at least back at Bubbe’s place. We may not be across the Red Sea yet, but we have smeared plenty of…
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Culture In Peter Yarrow’s legacy, an uneasy blend of Jewish values and personal transgressions
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News ‘Do you have the Torahs?’ Synagogue races LA wildfire to rescue its past and future
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Fast Forward Israel’s judicial overhaul is back. So are the protests.
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Opinion After 15 months of war, Israelis are all scaffolding, helping hold each other up
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Fast Forward Their Pacific Palisades synagogue is standing, but all three rabbis lost their homes
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Fast Forward House votes to sanction International Criminal Court leaders over Israel charges
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