By Jennifer Rubin

Until recently, few Americans ever heard of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). But then Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) got interested in what the agency, supposedly neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian…

Matzav.com would like to wish its readers all over the globe a chag sameiach. As we celebrate our 3,324th anniversary since receiving the Torah at Har Sinai, we are reminded of the supremacy of Torah learning above all else. There are myriad lessons to…

[Audio below.] Below is a shmuess that was delivered two years ago, on Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5770, by Rav Chaim Stein zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland and the zekan roshei yeshivos in the United States. Matzav.com is sharing the shm…

Dear readers,
I am writing to let you know about a survey that I have begun that seeks to assess what people, from various crossections of our community see as the major issues facing the Orthodox Jewish community, the ease or difficulty in creating c…

Annoying, unsolicited text message advertisements could soon be banned in New Jersey.
The Assembly voted 78-0 on Thursday for legislation banning messages that may cause a charge or usage deduction. Proponents say that would effectively ban all unsoli…

Rabbi Dovid Heber, Star-K Kashrus Administrator
One of the best known halachos of kashrus is that one may not eat meat and milk together.  One of the reasons that kosher symbols incorporate a ‘D’ onto the kosher certification is to not…

By Rav Shmuel Brazil
One of the charachters of Megillas Rus is Peloni Almoni, the relative who was also called the goail and was supposed to fulfill the mitzvah of yibum on Rus. Why didn’t the novi reveal his real name?
The answer given is that …

While reciting Birchos Hatorah on Erev Shavuos, one may clearly stipulate that his brachos should be in effect only until the next morning. In this case, he may recite the brachos on Shavuos morning even if he did not sleep (Keren L’David 59 and …

-One who goes to sleep after Alos Hashachar Shavuos morning (or on any day) does not say the bracha of Hamapil. Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 239:1MB8, Piskei Tshuvos 494:5
-There is a well known minhag to bring flowers into shul and one’s ho…

On Shavuos night, the minhag is to wait until it is night – Tzeis Hakochavim – to daven Maariv in order to have 49 complete days. (Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 494:1).
Likewise, it is preferable for women to wait until it is night to light candles…

As Matzav.com continues to serve as the worldwide leading Torah community news site on the Web, we owe our gratitude to you, our loyal readers, for allowing this site to flourish and bring about positivity and kiddush Hashem each day while providin…

Security software company Symantec (SYMC) has released its Internet Security Threat report for 2011, and it is packed with interesting information about the relative risks of online activity.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of the report is in the r…

By I. Schwartz
Over the course of the past several years, the Yated has had the distinct displeasure, yet felt the obligation, to document for the tzibbur the various deviations of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) and “Open Orthodoxy,” the pl…

Political pollsters have been under pressure to make sure their samples include Americans who rely solely on cell phones-and the latest NBC News/Marist polls of Florida, Ohio and Virginia exhibit why.
As NBC’s First Read flags, Romney narrowly p…

Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living space by eliminating almost half its streetlights.
As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city, w…

On Tuesday, following a meeting with Miriam Unger, the wife of Yanky Ostreicher, Congressman Jerrold Nadler sent the letter below to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
May 21, 2012
The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of …

Today, the OU commended former Governor Mitt Romney for his policy proposals designed to expand school choice.
In an address, Gov. Rommey called educational opportunity the “civil rights issue of our era” and the “challenge of our ti…

[Video below.] The following is a full 4+ hour video of Sunday’s asifah at Citi Field. Approximately 50,000 people participated at Citi Field and Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York. Thousands others joined via hookup.
Click below to watch…

Rachel Atias, 7, the sole survivor of a tragic accident that killed her parents and six siblings was released this morning from Haifa’s Rambam Hospital.
She went to live with her aunt Esther Cohen in Tzfat.
Rambam Medical Center chief of pediatr…