Rick Magder practically grew up on a movie set, but he gave up the chance to have a dazzling Hollywood career for a life of Torah. It’s around 7:30 p.m., and I’m standing on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard. Suddenly, a young man starts running in my direction. He looks frantic. As he gets closer the beads […]

Trying to discuss anxiety in a one-page article is like trying to fit the Pacific Ocean into an eyedropper.

Masada is without a doubt one of the most frequently visited sites in Israel, outside of Jerusalem. The mountaintop, once inaccessible to all but the hardiest hikers, is now reachable by cable car, and much of the site is handicapped accessible. The archaeological remains date back primarily to the period of King Herod, who ruled […]

Motzei Shabbat. The recitation of the final amen pierces the air like the crack of the starter’s pistol and signals that the race has begun. The sleepy gait of Shabbat has gracefully retired into the shadows of evening. I spring into action. I mutter my perfunctory gut vochs and make a beeline for the shul […]

Misconception: The ideal day to get married is Yom Shelishi (Tuesday) because in the Creation story, the phrase “ki tov” (for it is good)1 is used twice on that day. Fact: Tuesday may be a fine day on which to get married. However, there does not seem to be any basis for the belief that […]

Some time ago, a series of babies became infected with serious, life-threatening sores in their groin areas shortly after they were circumcised. It was alleged both by physicians and by some local rabbis that the sores were the result of the mohel performing metzitzah b’peh—the ancient tradition of orally suctioning the wound after incision. The […]

For decades, society considered comics to be “kid stuff.” Pictures were art, words were literature, but put the two together and it equaled trash. Nowadays, critically acclaimed novels in the format of comics1 (commonly known as graphic novels) are available at every major book chain. Many of these have Jewish themes (although they may not […]