There was a time, not long ago, when the arrival of new occupants in the house next door, across the street, or down the road would automatically trigger the baking of apple pies, peach cobblers and cherry turnovers. These edible tokens of greeting might be placed on the newcomers’ doorsteps with an accompanying note…

The horrific shootings took place on a Saturday – the Jewish sabbath, or Shabbat.  April 27, 2019 also happened to be the eighth-and-final-day of Passover, which meant that the Chabad of Poway synagogue was filled with worshipers when the 19-year-old assailant entered the premises and began firing.  Minutes later, one congregant lay dead, and…

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided a case that holds significant implications for the application of the “ministerial exception.”  A copy of the three-member panel’s unanimous decision in Fratello v. Archdiocese of New York can be found, here.

To refresh your memory, the ministerial exception is a legal…

When I was in 8th grade, a friend of mine from Little League invited me to accompany his family to an event at his school.  At the time, I attended Robert Fulton Junior High School in Van Nuys, and he went to St. Genevieve, in neighboring Panorama City.  The occasion marked the first time…

Earlier this month, more than seventy rabbis, Jewish organizational executives and academics described as “a highly diverse group of thought leaders from all around the United States,” lent their names to a document billed as a “Statement on Jewish Vitality,” The statement commences with a somber acknowledgement:

“American Jewry now stands at a…