The Mitzvah of Settling in the Land of Israel – Part 5The Three OathsThe Talmud (Ketubot 111a), based upon three verses in Shir HaShirim which begin, “I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,” teac...

 The Mitzvah of Settling in the Land of Israel – Part 4The View of TosafotAs discussed in Part 1, the Mishnah (Ketubot 13:11) teaches that one may compel his or her spouse to ascend to the Land o...

 The Mitzvah of Settling in the Land of Israel – Part IIIThe Ramban’s ViewAs we explored at length last week in these pages, many authorities struggle to account for why the Rambam does not inclu...

 IS IT A MITZVAH TO VOTE?Voter turnout for Israel's first elections in 1949 was 86.9%, but recent years have seen a significant decline. This past April, only 68.5% of those eligible voted, and i...

 The Mitzvah of Settling in the Land of Israel – Part IIRambam’s ViewMuch ink has been spilled concerning the view of Rambam. Arguably the greatest of the Rishonim, many grapple with why Rambam h...

 The Mitzvah of Settling in the Land of Israel – Part IThe recent dramatic increase in anti-Semitism and violent attacks on Jewish communities in North America and abroad has stirred much discuss...

 Road SafetyOn the first night of Chanukah, a bus traveling on Route 40 near Ben-Gurion Airport rammed through a concrete bus stop, overturning and killing four people. While the driver of the bu...

 Inviting Non-Observant Guests for ShabbatLast week, hundreds of thousands of Jews participated in the ‘Shabbat Project,’ an initiative that began in South Africa in 2013 and quickly spread world...

 Uman, Uman, Rosh Hashanah: Holy? Or Wholly Inappropriate?Each year, tens of thousands of pilgrims travel from the State of Israel and flock to the grave of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov for Rosh Hash...

 Is it a Mitzvah to Vote in Israel's Elections?Before the elections for the First Knesset in January 1949, a number of leading rabbis issued a ‘Kol Koreh,’ urging their flock to participate and s...

 Last week, we saw that many Jews did not return to the Land of Israel during the 'Shivat Tzion' in the Days of Ezra and Nechemiah and explored the reasons why.So who did return?The Mishnah (Kidd...

 The 'Shivat Tzion' in the Days of Ezra and Nechemiah & our Contemporary Shivat Tzion - Part ILast week, we saw that according to Rashi, the blessing of "matzvi g'vul almanah," is t...

For 2,000 years, many Halachot laid dormant, waiting, only to be rediscovered, discussed and debated with the miraculous return of the Jewish People to their ancestral homeland, and the dramatic estab...

 The Talmud (Mo’ed Katan 26a) instructs one to rend his garment upon seeing the Cities of Judah, Jerusalem, and the site of the Holy Temple in a state of destruction (Churban):“One who sees the C...

 Restoring the SanhedrinPart III – Attempts at Renewing SemichahLast week we saw that according to the Rambam, it is indeed possible to renew Semichah, real rabbinic ordination.Over the centuries...