Halacha

Safed Rabbinical Court may close this fall despite strong local demand

Several rabbis wrote a letter to the chief rabbi opposing the decision, and the Rabbinical Courts Administration said it is doing everything "in its power" to stop the closure, the report said.

|ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTER
Buildings in old city, Safed, Northern District, Israel.
Ultra orthodox jewish men protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, at the home of Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg in the settlement of Alon Shvut, June 3, 2026.

The rabbis attacking Israel’s courts are attacking Religious Zionism - opinion

The very ethos of Religious Zionism is integration: to bridge the sacred and the worldly, and to play an integral role in building the State of Israel.

|ByELAD CAPLAN
'Spirituality can grow without diminishing anyone,' says the writer.

Parashat Tazria-Metzora: Turning lemons into lemonade

These parashot deal at length with a unique phenomenon described in the Torah – tzara’at, which are marks or changes that appear on the walls of a house, on clothing, or on the body.

|ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
An illustrative image of a Passover Seder plate.

Make this year’s seder meaningful when tables are smaller - opinion

We are a link in a chain that stretches back over three millennia, a chain that has endured exile, persecution, and upheaval, yet has never been broken.

|ByJONATHAN LIEBERMAN

Decades of impact: David Golinkin reflects on his legacy of pluralistic Jewish education

Upon his retirement as president of The Schechter Institutes, longtime ‘oleh’ David Golinkin talks about his Israel impact – via pluralistic Jewish education that goes to the people.

NOVEMBER 1, 2025ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
RABBI DAVID GOLINKIN at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. The mural adorning the building, ‘Ot Hi L’Olam,’ created by a group of nine artists in 2019, includes overlapping layers of quotations from Hebrew poetry.

Professional advancement in Halacha: Why women should be allowed to take official exams - opinion

Women have been studying Halacha for many years, and they simply long for the chance to take official exams.

OCTOBER 28, 2025ByCHAMUTAL SHOVAL
‘SINCE THE war began, the questions have become even harder and more traumatic. I do my best to answer and to provide the questioner, male or female, with halachic guidance through these painful moments,’ says the writer.

Chief rabbis call for public vaccination following four measles deaths

In a public letter, the rabbis argued that "you shall take great care of yourselves" is not just a verse from the Torah, but a halachic and moral obligation. 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2025ByWALLA, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A notice warning of a “Measles” is seen on a door in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, July 31, 2025.

'Shabbat guidebook for parents': The value of recharging - review

A resourceful guidebook for a joyful Shabbat with your children.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025ByMALKA BINA
HAREDI CHILDREN wear crowns as they celebrate receiving their first prayer books at the Kotel. There is no formal blessing for raising children, the author writes, because it is an ‘all-encompassing, timeless mitzvah.’

'The daughter of kings and queens': A letter to my daughter on her bat mitzvah

'The ya’ara has an aroma I deeply associate with the Land of Israel, and I wanted you to carry that association with you.'

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025ByAHARON E. WEXLER
THE WRITER’S daughter Ya’ara Tehila, of whom he is very proud.

Katz Prize 50th anniversary: call for nominations for the year 5785

Applications for the prestigious Katz Prize, awarded for the 50th year, will close in about two weeks, on the 4th of Elul.

AUGUST 17, 2025ByAVI ELIYA
President of Israel Isaac "Bougie" Herzog with last year's Katz Prize winners.

Rabbi Neil Danzig, scholar who unlocked mysteries of the Talmud, dies at 74

A longtime resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, he was buried in Israel.

JULY 23, 2025ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL/JTA
Rabbi Neil Danzig, shown in an undated photo, was an authority on the Babylonian Jewish scholars known as Geonim.

Kosher or cruel? The Jewish ethical dilemma of factory-farmed meat

Growing demand for meat worldwide sparks debate about 'tza’ar ba’alei chaim' – causing needless suffering to living creatures.

JULY 19, 2025ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
HOW DO factory farms figure in?

Jewish ethical dilemma: What does Halacha say about coercing medical treatment?

In respecting a competent patient’s wishes, rabbis have upheld that choice in such cases reflects not a disregard for life but a sober recognition that the obligation to prolong life has limits.

JULY 5, 2025BySHLOMO BRODY
An illustrative image of a hospital bed.

Nadav Schwartz: Fighting for LGBTQ+ acceptance among religious Jews

Jerusalemite of the week: A religious Jew who has been out as a gay man for 15 years now, Nadav Schwartz is a passionate activist who fights for the reconciliation of religious and queer identities. 

JUNE 21, 2025ByAARON REICH
Nadav Schwartz