Jewish Life
Jewish life, community news, and Torah perspective.
Hayom Yom: Parashat Hashavua: Noach
The story of Noah is often read as a survival guide. Build an ark, weather the storm, start over. But the real secret isn't the wood and nails. It's the covenant. The rainbow. An ark…
Your Voice Lives in Five Places and Your Feed Is One of Them
Most brands measure voice consistency on the feed. Buyers measure it across everything they touch before they write to you. A prospect reads three of your posts, opens your website, sends a question through the…
New podcast on Channel 7 | The tidings on Shabbat and the pain that never ends
Rabbi David Ben Pinchas lost his daughter Efrat, may her memory be blessed, in a car accident, and years later his son, Avraham, may God avenge his blood, who fell in battle in Rafah. In…
YIVO studied a living Yiddish culture. What happened when that world was nearly destroyed?
When YIVO was founded in Vilna in 1925, its mission was to study a living people. The Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut was meant to be a national university for Jews scattered across Eastern Europe and, increasingly,…
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun launches KJ Makor, new initiative for young Jewish professionals
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, a Modern Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, announced the launch of KJ Makor (KJM), a new grassroots initiative that creates opportunities for connection and community for young professionals ages 22-35.…
The Ferrari-driving grandson of a Lubavitcher who took a P Diddy ‘victim’ under his wing
When a record producer confided in David Sugarman about an alleged assault – denied by the rapper – the Florida strategist promised him justice
ConnectEd launches online English-speaking community for Jewish educators
Initially developed for Hebrew-speaking educators, the form offers webinars, peer learning, working groups, and collaborative projects for Israel's English-speaking community
Slop costs you money before it costs you taste
Everyone has learned to spot a post written by nobody. If you sell anything, that matters on your balance sheet first. You know the post. It opens with a hook about how the business world…
The Month After the Holidays
You stood in shul three weeks ago and meant it. Look at what is left of it now. Early October is when you find out. The shofar is a memory, the sukkah is down or…
Sderot Yeshiva: Three years, two Simchat Torah celebrations
Moving video contrasts Simchat Torah at Sderot Yeshiva just hours after the October 7 massacre, with students singing under armed guard, and this year's celebrations filled with dancing and joy. Watch
Judge an agency by what it ships, not what it promises
An agency that promises you results is selling you a coin flip with a retainer attached. Organic results lag by months, they depend on your product, and they tangle with everything else you do. No…
Document Discovered by Chance 17 Years After Grandfather's Death Ignites Inheritance Battle Over Tens of Millions
The notarized power of attorney found in the bride's home after a break-in led to a family dispute over land rights worth 90 million shekels in the heart of Jerusalem. The bride sued the other…
What a Bag of Lentils Tells the Person Who Receives It
Food assistance does two jobs. The first is calories. The second is a message, and the people doing the giving tend to think about it far less than the people receiving. A family that opens…
“We are here to stay, whether you like it or not. Am Yisrael Chai. The Jewish people live, and we will live forever.”
Sami Steigmann, Holocaust Survivor
Three years after Oct. 7, survey says Jewish engagement has reached an elevated ‘new normal’
(JTA) — Levels of engagement in Jewish life have risen overall, establishing a “new normal” three years after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, according to a survey released Thursday by the Jewish Federations of North…
Maggie Tabibi reveals the price she paid: "They accused me of religious coercion"
Channel 14 news presenter Maggie Tabibi spoke about the path to faith she reached during the darkest periods of her life • During a speech she gave, she mentioned the moving moment in which she…
From Jerusalem to the Jewish World: Hundreds of Educators to Gather for a Special International Conference
Approximately 250 teachers, educators, principals, and educational leaders from dozens of educational institutions and Jewish communities around the world will come to Israel for the 'International Jewish Educator Conference' of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs…
Sukkah Dispute: David Accused of Threatening to Stab Neighbors Over 'Loud Music'
David Don (49), a resident of Migdal HaEmek, is accused of going to his neighbors' sukkah while holding a large kitchen knife and threatening to harm them if they did not lower the volume of…
The Two Hostile Villages with the Most Synagogues
Secrets of the Southern Hebron Hills: The Jewish Community that Converted to Islam, King David's Silver Treasure, and the Exciting Discovery of Z'ev Erlich HY"D
Will the French arrive en masse in Israel?
Israel is actively preparing for a potential massive increase in Jewish immigration from France, as the country is shaken by violent protests and a rise in antisemitic acts. During an Israeli Cabinet meeting, Minister of…
The Approval Button Is Not a Content Strategy
Replacing the writer with an agent is the wrong call. The posters saying so are right, and they still skip the hardest part: someone has to do the reading. An argument is running on LinkedIn…
Kosher fast food chain Zalman's sold for a huge sum
The Israeli kosher fast food chain Zalman's has changed owners: Kamari Retail Group bought half of the business for 3.5 million shekels. The entire brand was valued at 7 million shekels. This was reported by…
Israel Mourns on Monday, So Should We
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 12, 2023.…
When Your WhatsApp Fund Becomes a Tax Problem
You're collecting donations in your personal account. A donor asks for a receipt. You have nothing to send. This moment arrives for every informal fund operator. The family needs help with medical bills. The community…
Daily Tehillim: Parashat Hashavua: Noach
The deepest secret in this week's Torah portion isn't the ark or the flood. It's the covenant. A covenant isn't a contract. It's a conscious commitment that redefines your reality. Noach stepped into a new…
Beige Paste Is Cheap. Specifics Are Not.
The fear going around is that AI will flatten every brand into the same gray voice. Then only the people who already had a name, a team, or a family business behind them will look…
The familiar taste - without milk | The beloved brand arrives in a parve version
Strauss's new parve product line launches 'Yotvata' chocolate milk and iced coffee after long development to achieve the exact taste of the dairy product
Where New Yorkers will commemorate anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023 and it aftermath
Jewish institutions in New York are gearing up to mark the third anniversary on Wednesday of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, as some anti-Zionist groups prepare to hold demonstrations against Israel. About 1,200…
‘Local, programmatic decision,’ Hillel International says of University of Michigan chapter breaking with Israeli advocacy groups
“If Michigan Hillel wants to remain the center of Jewish life on campus, it cannot retreat from one of the central and challenging parts of being Jewish there,” Seth Mendel, of CAMERA, told JNS
Sydney Sweeney ‘serious’ about converting to Judaism
The American actor, whose partner is Jewish businessman Scooter Braun, is said to have ‘met two rabbis’
Who are we today, and who would we like to be tomorrow? A reflection for the Jewish new year
Our behavior, both subtly and overtly, offers a message that we hand down to future generations – to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren
Why Small States Punch Above Their Weight
Geography is not destiny, but it shapes the game board. Small states operate under constraints that would cripple larger powers, yet some of them wield influence far beyond what their size suggests. The question is…
The Blessing You Say Without Feeling and the One Nobody Scheduled
You have said a few thousand blessings this year. Ask yourself how many of them you were in the room for. Most of them left no mark. You said the words over bread, over coffee,…
The Eternity of Israel
Our ability to stand against the attacks of terror, falsehood, and wickedness of our Muslim enemies and those who do their bidding lies in the fundamental and basic understanding of the first Rashi of Breishit…
People don't distrust AI-written posts. They distrust posts nobody stands behind.
Readers have stopped giving auto-generated social content the benefit of the doubt. Good. They're right to, though most of them are pointing at the wrong evidence. They point at rhythm. The tidy list of three.…
"I decided I'm leaving everything and coming": The young people from France who immigrated alone to become IDF fighters
They landed at Ben Gurion Airport with one suitcase and a great deal of motivation, leaving behind worried families and comfortable lives. In the shadow of rising anti-Semitism and the impact of October 7, the…
Plan the Giving First, Then Fit Israel Around It
Most families who care about tzedakah plan an Israel trip the same way. They build the days around the Kotel, the Old City, a hike, a good dinner, and then they add a line near…
Texas wins case forcing Galveston school district to display Ten Commandments posters in classrooms
(JTA) — A Texas judge has ordered a Gulf Coast school district to display posters of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, marking a victory for the state in a protracted series of legal battles…
Yitzhak Amit's Apology to the Haredi Public
After causing an uproar when he claimed that many Haredim hold a kosher phone alongside a smartphone, Judge Yitzhak Amit apologized for his remarks and clarified that he did not intend to offend the Haredi…
Leadership Change at HIT: Prof. Rafael Barakan Appointed President of the Institute
Prof. Barakan, who served as vice president for innovation, entrepreneurship, and internationalization, will replace Prof. Edward Yakubov, who has headed the Holon Institute of Technology since 2013. In his new role, he will lead the…
When the home no longer feels safe: 5 years with Canadian Jews
In the three years since October 7, Canadian Jewry has been at the forefront of support for Israel. Dozens of delegations arrived in the country, and donations to the communities in the south and north…
Dozens of Jews participated in a festive prayer at the synagogue in Jericho
Dozens of Jews prayed at the ancient Shalom Al Israel synagogue. The worshipers arrived at the site in the early morning hours and left only after a festive Shacharit service, with Hallel, hakafot, hoshanot, and…
How does the Torah begin? Video
How does the Torah begin? The daily post, Parashah Bereshit / Sivan Rahav-Meir How does the Torah begin this week? Well, the first thing that God tells us in the Torah is that the world…
Babi Yar 85 years later: Zelensky honors memory of murdered Jews
In Kyiv, on September 29, a ceremony commemorating the victims of Babi Yar was held, marking the 85th anniversary of the mass shooting of Jews by the Nazis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the…
Daily Rambam (1 Chapter): Daily Rambam: Levirate Marriage and Release 7
What really makes a relationship last? We often think it's just love, the powerful feeling of connection. But the deepest bonds are built on something else too: a shared mission. When two people align not…
When the Volume Breaks the Voice
The marketing manager who built your brand voice cannot read every customer service email. She cannot approve every social media reply. She cannot sit in on every sales call when the pipeline doubles. This is…
Watch: Soldiers of the Haredi Battalion Danced at the Declaration Ceremony at the Western Wall
Soldiers of the Haredi battalion Netzach Yehuda from the August 2026 cycle burst into song and dance at the declaration ceremony at the Western Wall. [youtube:2179802]
I was so afraid my son would leave the Jewish family that I forgot to be his father
The trouble, if that’s the word, began with a text from Havana: “I met someone!” My son, Ben, was 26 and on his third trip to Cuba. He was there for the music and the…
UJA event marking third anniversary of Oct. 7 draws about 400, memorial made of hostage pins, tags unveiled
Andrey Kozlov, a non-Jewish Israeli who was captured on Oct. 7 when he was serving as an unarmed security guard at the Nova festival, urged Jews worldwide to stand firm in their identity in remarks…
When I saw Moscow Jews defying the KGB on Simchat Torah to proclaim: We are still here
The street to the Great Choral Synagogue sloped gently downhill, but I stood transfixed at the top. I couldn’t move. I began to sob. The street in front was filled with masses of people
Editor's Notes: American Jews are changing after Oct. 7, but we cannot abandon them - comment
Our obligations to fellow Jews extend to those who continue to disagree with us. They are our brothers and sisters, and I’m not willing to give them up
Patent Claims That Actually Protect Your Innovation
Most engineers file patents backwards. They describe what they built, then wonder why competitors ship similar products without infringement. The patent system rewards different thinking. Your claims define your monopoly. Everything else is…
You Built Your Life Around Being the Provider
You built your life around being the provider. The man who handles it. The one people count on when things get serious. For twenty years, maybe thirty, that identity worked. It gave you structure, respect,…
Watch: Haredi soldiers celebrate induction into IDF
A Haredi battalion broke into song and dance after swearing into the IDF at the Western Wall - while protests against the draft were underway elsewhere in Jerusalem
What Most Small Businesses Get Wrong About Social Media Pricing
You want to know what social media posting should cost. The wrong question is killing your budget. Most small business owners ask about price per post, monthly retainers, or hourly rates. They compare proposals based…
Why Your Children Need to Pack Food With Their Own Hands
Your family can write a check to feed the hungry from anywhere in the world. You can set up monthly donations, sponsor meals, even adopt entire families through various programs. All of these matter. None…
America’s only major etrog grower is in survival mode amid global competition
(JTA) — (J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) On a small ranch in California’s Central Valley, below the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, an orchard grows an ancient and sacred fruit: the…
Response to High Court and Attorney General: 100,000 Expected to Ascend to Maran's Grave
One week before the hilula of Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Zt"l, the organizers are preparing for tens of thousands to arrive at his grave in Jerusalem using buses from about 70 cities • A Shas…
The Judge Who Lit a Torch Got Entangled - and the Warning Entered His Personal File
Judge Avraham Zarbiv, who lit a torch on Independence Day, got entangled following a video he distributed on WhatsApp in which he called for donations. The Commissioner for Public Complaints on Judges determined that he…
The Tishrei Holidays: Joys and Nostalgia
Two testimonies illustrate well the climate of joys and nostalgia that the Tishrei holidays evoke. Memories of Yom Kippur When we were young, in my synagogue in Paris, the best moment of the year was…
