Articles in Religion and Jewish Thought
By Simon Holloway
Most people who use the word “midrash” don’t know what it means. To them, “midrash” simply denotes a convoluted and nonsensical commentary to a text: a tract composed with the intention of obfuscating …
By David Werdiger
Judging by the number of comments on the stories about soft matzah, particularly those questioning the flour used for matzos that had been manufactured locally in the past under Kosher Australia, you’d think …
By David Werdiger
I’m very pleased that the current season of MasterChef is finally over. My family is whole again; the kids are able to go to bed at their regular time; we are able to …
By David Werdiger
It’s a common scene in a Shul on Shabbat. Shortly before the reading of the Torah, the gabbai (that fellow who makes sure all the parts of the shul service that have to …
By Simon Holloway
I don’t care how popular the iPad becomes, or even the ubiquitous E Ink devices: nothing will ever replace the joy of holding a book. The tactile and olfactory feast that is an …
By Liz Paratz
Fast-forward a few thousand years and if we are condemned to ‘bring forth children in sorrow’, why do even the most religious of Jewish women use pain-relief in childbirth?
By Yaakov Gorr
Parsha Korach is a great reminder that Judaism is known for its great debates and great debaters – not only debates between Moshe and Korach but debates between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael, …
By David Werdiger
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of the Chabad/Lubavitch movement, had a favourite saying, “One should live with the times”. His intent was not that Judaism should be adapted to fit the times. …
By Rabbi Meir Rabi
For background on soft matzah see this and this.
I wonder what constitutes a “controversy” or a “controversial pesak”?
Is it the tumult raised by parties who are not impartial?
By those who may have …
By Keren Tuch
The air was holy. People walked the aisles as if levitating in a state of awe. As the holy Amma appeared on stage and performed her ritualistic puja, the audience – a mix …


