Ishay Ribo, an Orthodox Israeli pop star, performed in front of a full house of 15,000 fans in Madison Square Garden in early September 2023. Ribo’s concert roused the audience to heights of fervor. The crowd spiritedly responded, “Barukh shem kevod malkhuto le-olam va’ed” [G-d’s name and kingdom are blessed for eternity] to Ribo’s rendition […]

My archival philosophy is guided by a variation of the well-known statement of Rabbi Chanina quoted in the Talmud (BT Ta’anis 7a) that “I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues and from my students most of all.”  My version, formulated from many years as an archivist, acknowledges all I have learned […]

The Commentator’s headline on May 20, 1948, proclaimed: “Yeshiva Rejoices at Birth of Israel: Zionists Applaud Historic Occasion;” the issue included brief statements from Yeshiva’s President, Dr. Samuel Belkin and faculty members acclaiming the “Yishuv’s Accomplishment.”  In an age of black and white, the front page of the issue boasted Hebrew phrases in […]

What constitutes being a “member of a tribe”? Most individuals identify as being part some larger group; the group forms part of a person’s sense of self and frequently provides a feeling of belonging and pride.

In Lech Lecha, this past week’s Torah portion, God commands Abraham to circumcise all the males of his household, […]