Ben Harris Email RSS

is JTA's former associate editor.

Latest

• For graduates of Avi Weiss’ academy, ordination comes with controversy

  June 18, 2013 11:01am

  The ordination of three Orthodox women on Sunday was billed as a historic event, but for much of the Orthodox world the move represents a dangerous break with tradition — if not an outright violation of Jewish law.

• What does an Orthodox woman’s ordination certificate look like?

  June 17, 2013 5:33pm

  Tomorrow, I’ll have a longer story about Rabbi Avi Weiss’ controversial ordination of three Orthodox women on Sunday. But in the meantime, check out the sample ordination certificate, or klaf, provided to one of the first graduates of Yeshivat Maharat, Weiss’ school for the training of women as “rabbinic leaders.”

• Rabbi diva drama

  June 14, 2013 11:35am

  Beth David Synagogue in West Hartford wanted to make a promotional video. But its rabbi is such a drama queen.

• First, they take Manhattan

  June 12, 2013 3:46pm

  To some, 3,000 New Yorkers riding blue bicycles portends the end of the American way.

• Thousands of haredim protest in Lower Manhattan

  June 9, 2013 10:38pm

  Thousands of haredim gathered in Lower Manhattan on Sunday to protest efforts to conscript the haredi Orthodox into the Israeli military.

• Fundamentalists or exemplars of the purpose-driven life?

  May 28, 2013 10:03am

  Is the growth of the haredi community a demographic threat to the non-Orthodox Jewish world? Jay Michaelson thinks so. But the Forward columnist is also being accused of cherry picking negative headlines to malign an entire community.

• Does this tea kettle resemble Hitler?

  May 28, 2013 8:06am

  Some folks in the Twitterverse seem to think so. Of course, there’s a whole sector of the Internet devoted to Hitler look-alikes. There’s the famous Hitler cats, and this site which is a generic catch-all for Hitler dopplegangers. Even our own Uri Fintzy thinks he spotted the fuhrer on a wall outlet in his apartment….

• Israel facing Honduras in soccer match at N.Y.’s Citi Field

  April 30, 2013 2:32pm

  Israel’s national soccer team will be making its first New York appearance in decades for a match against Honduras at Citi Field.

• What’s the best Jewish college campus in America?

  April 29, 2013 2:45pm

  Participate in JTA’s first annual Best Jewish Campus Survey to help us determine which colleges have the best Jewish Greek life, kosher food, Hillels, Jewish studies programs, Jewish a capella groups, and more.

• What’s the best Jewish college campus in America?

  April 29, 2013 2:31pm

  Participate in JTA’s first annual Best Jewish Campus Survey to help us determine which colleges have the best Jewish Greek life, kosher food, Hillels, Jewish studies programs, Jewish a capella groups, and more. Fill out JTA’s 3-minute survey and get automatically entered to win a $200 American Express card. Forward our contest to all your undergraduate friends. (Survey open to…