The First Rabbi In America
The first ordained rabbi to serve in an American congregation was Rabbi Abraham Joseph Rice (originally Reiss, 1802-1862). After studying in Germany, in Wurtzburg and then Fuerth, Rice…
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soleveitchik
Few personalities have done as much to define the Modern Orthodox Jewish community as Rabbi Joseph Ber Soleveitchik (1903-1993). Not only did “the Rav,” as he is referred to reverently by…
Chosen To Write: Chaim Potok
In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with an angel and emerged as Israel, “He who struggles.” In the 20th-21st century, Western Jews spend a great amount of energy wrestling with the world of…
Rabbi Eliezer Silver
Historians have noted the seemingly underwhelming response of the American Jewish community to the Holocaust as it unfolded in Europe. Among the few who were prominent activists was Rabbi…
A Page A Day
The 7th of Cheshvan (today) is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Lubliner Rav, who passed away in 1933. Although he died at age 46, he had by then changed the face of European…
Honoring 9/11
Today is anniversary of the devastating attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. There are stories to be told of heroes, men like Abraham Zelmanowitz who stayed with a…
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the Father of Modern Hebrew
The official language of Israel is Hebrew, but until the end of the 19th century almost no one spoke Hebrew colloquially. Lashon Hakodesh, the holy tongue, was used only for prayer and…
Chief Rabbi of New York
The position of Chief Rabbi is to be found in almost every major Jewish community except in the United States. Perhaps this is due to America’s separation of church and state, as the…
Catherine And The Jews
Catherine II (AKA Catherine the Great, 1729-1796) was born Sophia Augusta Frederica, a daughter of the ruling family of Anhalt (a German state). In 1744, she married her second cousin,…
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
In early 19th century Germany, many communities found themselves in conflict between traditional Judaism and the new Reform movement. Finding the balance between living a Torah life and a…