We are just a couple of weeks away from the completion of the Talmud. We should celebrate the fact that tens of thousands of Jews will be gathering at a football stadium in New Jersey in completion of the Talmud. That is a great thing. But I am far more excited about the alternative program that will take place the next week in New York City as it will be truly reflective of the scholarship and diversity of the glorious work known as the Talmud.

On June 21, a Jewish woman was detained for hours by Israeli police for praying at the Western Wall. Why? Because she was wearing a tallit -- a prayer shawl. Some say that women who are wearing the tallit are flaunting their piety, but is this really the case? Shouldn't we, as a Jewish people, give women the benefit of the doubt when they honour Hashem?