A Book Review

What does it mean to be a bar mitzva? How does one keep up the momentum long after they reach the age of 13? What are the obligations of a girl who becomes bat mitzva? These questions and more are thoroughly explored and answered in the newest book by Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, Phenomenal Insights about Bar Mitzva and Tefillin (2026). Rabbi Alt* gathers insights from throughout the Torah to present more than 50 engaging essays on the significance of becoming bar mitzva and tefillin. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book is suitable for Jews of all ages and makes a wonderful bar mitzva present. The insights, including the source of the bar mitzva “pshetel” (speech), can be a valuable resource for speeches by bar mitzva boys, parents, and rabbanim alike.

The book also features inspiring stories, such as that of a man approaching the age of 105 who decided to put on tefillin for the very first time, inspiring a pre-med student to begin as well. As the student put it: “If a man can begin putting on tefillin at 105, why shouldn’t I start now? Why wait until I’m 105?” We also learn what happens to the soul when a boy becomes bar mitzva. For some people, the significance of a bar mitzva might only be revealed later. Still, it is always worthwhile to prepare well before one becomes a gadol. This book allows one to do just that.

“I will come and everyone else will follow.” This was the response of Rabbi Simcha Kook, zt”l, to a real estate agent who expressed surprise at the Rav’s insistence on purchasing a home in an area where there were hardly any Jews and that was frequented by Arabs.

In his book, Rav Simcha Kook, Builder of Torah, Beacon of Unity (ArtScroll 2025), Gedalia Guttentag gives readers a vivid portrait of the late Rabbi Simcha HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim’s Churva shul and Rechovot, a role he served in for nearly 50 years. This well-researched biography, culled from dozens of interviews portrays a man who was of shalom, a unifier, and a leading Torah scholar.

Rabbi Kook brought countless souls back to Yiddishkeit through tears, love, and diplomacy. He was a consensus builder working across ideological lines to get things done. Like his great uncle, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, zt”l, Rav Simcha led by example, and others followed.

The recently released, English-language sefer, Badei Hamitzvos Volume 1: Bereishis and Shemos, (Feldheim 2025), by Rabbi Yitzchok Weber, is a concise, easy-to-read, and indispensable guide to the 613 mitzvos and their halachos, enlightening readers of all ages to the taryag mitzvos and the parsha. The work is arranged according to the weekly Torah portion and follows the mitzvos as laid out by the Sefer Hachinuch. The author, Rabbi Yitzchok Weber, provides sources from the Rambam, Shulchan Aruch, and Rashi, as well as other Acharonim. Volume 1 covers Bereishis and Shemos. Readers can engage in in-depth study thanks to extensive footnotes. Badei Hamitzvos has received extensive haskamos and excellent reviews for being a comprehensive yet accessible guide to the 613 mitzvos. 

Rabbi Weber* first lists a pasuk, its mitzva, halachos, and application as well as the consequences of violating the mitzvah. The in-depth footnotes provide explanations and sources. Badei Hamitzvos can also be used as a teaching tool and for Shabbos table discussion. This sefer makes learning about the mitzvos more enjoyable and gives an enhanced appreciation of the mitzvos. Readers of any age, both men and women, can appreciate this work and will learn all about each mitzvah through text and sources, according to his or her own level.

Once asked about how he became who he was, Rabbi Avigdor Miller responded that he learned Chovos Halevavos (Duties of the Heart) daily. This classic sefer was written in the early eleventh century by Rabbeinu Bachya Ibn Pakuda, a dayan in Sargossa, Spain, then under Muslim rule. It is one of the earliest mussar sefarim and is widely known as the bedrock of mussar. Indeed, Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik of Brisk called Chovos Halevavos the “Shulchan Aruch of Yiddishkeit,” and it was studied by such far-flung gedolim as Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch, the Vilna Gaon, and by all communities across the centuries.

I took my first Birthright trip in the winter of 2007, and I was last in Israel three summers ago visiting family. But this December, I was given the opportunity to return to Israel with Birthright on an alumni trip. As soon as they contacted me, I immediately said yes. The trip was supposed to happen in the summer 2025. However, the war with Iran caused a delay, and it was separated into smaller trips this winter. I just returned on Monday, December 15.

Birthright has now opened its doors to older people as well as to those who have taken previous trips. There has been renewed interest among the Jewish people, Post-October 7^th, in discovering (or rediscovering) our land. People want to support the tourism industry. They want to volunteer on the land. And with much of the world against us, they want to see for themselves what we are fighting for, even as our enemies creep into our birth countries and make us feel unwelcome. As one Birthright participant stated, “I am glad I went on this volunteer trip because it allowed me to view Israel from a different perspective and grow as a person.”

On November 4, 2025, New York City voted overwhelmingly for its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Little was known about this Ugandan-born Democratic socialist who beat out former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa. What is known, however, is that Mamdani supports “global jihad,” defunding the police, raising taxes, building affordable housing, and having City-run grocery stores buy and sell at wholesale prices from centralized warehouses.

Mamdani’s rise from community activist and social media star to mayoral candidate and now mayor-elect has raised alarms both in the New York City Jewish community and the wider world. Who will pay for the socialist policies of this new mayor? What will the implications be of a hands-off approach to policing? Will Mamdani’s rhetoric against Israel spark violence against Jews?