Jewish Society

When Did Taking From Others Become a Mitzva?

As a kind of follow up to my recent post on orphaned halachos, here’s another example of - if not an explicit halacha - a clear Torah-rooted social…

Jan 15 • Boruch Clinton

What Is a Kingdom...and Why?

In different contexts, both Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Essays on Ethics: Parashas Shemos) and Rabbi Meir Soloveitchik (in The Free Press) have noted the…

Jan 11 • Boruch Clinton

Funerals: Who Must Attend?

There’s a levaya happening in Toronto as I write these words.

Dec 14, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

You Are What You Read

So just what are you reading?

Nov 23, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

A Tale of Two Pictures

I’m not a complete stranger to the complex and demanding process required for baking hand matzah.

Nov 8, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

When Halacha Just Gets in the Way

I think it’s noteworthy how certain halachos somehow trigger significant resistance from mainstream frum Jews.

Oct 26, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

Rabbi Hirsch on Losing the Battles You've Won

The novelist Michael Crichton was supposed to have observed that activists are never useful for more than ten years or so.

Aug 18, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

What Can't be Said: Social Engagement in the Torah World

Why Judaism Needs Independent Publishing Platforms

Jul 10, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

Just What Are You Singing About?

For as long as I can remember the songs accompanying Simchas Torah dancing in yeshivas and kollelim have included:

Jan 12, 2025 • Boruch Clinton

Is It Getting Easier To Count American Jews?

I’ve written in the past about the disconnect between the “official” counts of just how many Jews there are and a count based on halachic standards.

Nov 20, 2024 • Boruch Clinton

Halacha and War

A powerful video from an Israeli rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Tamir Granot, has recently attracted a lot of attention.

Nov 1, 2024 • Boruch Clinton

What's Really Behind Yeshivishe Hats?

I make no secret of my ambivalence towards black hats.

Jul 21, 2024 • Boruch Clinton

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