Lament, Loss, and Lesson (Hopefully) Learned
Even though almost a week has passed, the horror of the terrorist attack at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav still lingers in my broken heart. The stories. The names. The pictures. It’s all just too much...
Author: Dovid Gottlieb
Back to the Future
A number of years ago I was walking through Barnes & Noble when I noticed a shocking book jacket. The title, emblazoned in big, bright red letters was Shanda and the cover picture was...
Getting to the Soul of L’Affaire Feldman
The last two weeks have provided many venues – in print and online – for valuable discussion and thoughtful responses to Professor Noah Feldman’s article in the New York Times Magazine. I was especially...
Kamtza and Bar Kamtza: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Story
The story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza is perhaps the most well known rabbinic text associated with the destruction of the Second Temple. And yet, perhaps it’s our very familiarity with the episode which...
An Unexpected Pesach Present
While my children were out purchasing their “afikoman presents” with my in-laws, I happened on my own holiday present in the form of a remarkable article by Dr. Francis Collins. The highly regarded Collins...
Frightening and Tragic Confirmation
In my previous Cross-Currents post I made reference to the frightening and tragic “culture of death” that has engulfed large parts of the Palestinian population. In the comments section, a number of contributors went...
Why We Remember – The Contemporary Relevance of Parshas Zachor
The essay below is adapted from the drasha (semon) delivered last year on Shabbos Zachor (3-11-06) at Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore, MD. A most fascinating news item was brought to my attention earlier...
Societal Values
I read about the current “Oprah controversy” with a mixture of concern and curiosity. For those who are not familiar with the story, the basic facts are as follows: Oprah Winfrey has spent the...
The Virtue of Struggle
There is something quite shocking about the Rev. Ted Haggard scandal. But it’s not what you might think. The allegations leveled against Rev. Haggard are obviously salacious, but in today’s world, unfortunately, they are...
Mr. October
I had barely a passing interest in the World Series this year. That was not because I am indifferent to baseball but – primarily – because of the poor showing of my beloved Yankees....
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