Are haredim sometimes paranoid?
15 b Tevet I have encountered several postings on Cross-Currents that seem to be tinged somewhat with avak paranoia. For example, Yaakov Menken wrote at length on Jan. 5 about an article in a...
Author: Shira Schmidt
Haredim for rent?
8th day of Hanuka An article of mine titled “Talking about, but without, the ultra-Orthodox” appears today Jan. 2 in the Jerusalem Post. It is a critical piece on the conference this week on...
I made a mistake
I had the feeling of déjà vu when reading about the controversy involving expunging “Merry Christmas” and substituing a pareve “Seasons Greetings”. I once was zealous about taking Christmas out of the public domain....
A Jerusalem Yankee in the King of Sweden’s Court
Motzei Shabbat 9 bKislev Luckily for Jews, Alfred Nobel passed away on December 10 and not during the summer over a century ago. The King of Sweden awards the Nobel Prizes annually on December...
End of heterodoxy, deja vu.
29 b Heshvan On November 27 Ori Pomerantz posed a question under the heading, The end of heterodoxy? Imagine that tonight there was a miracle, and tomorrow morning all the rabbis and chazzanim of...
“He didn’t get to say the Shma”
Saturday night 12 bMarHeshvan Two brief comments on the Rabin memorial (the Hebrew yahrzeit is tonight) which is taking place in Tel Aviv as I write these lines, in the square where the Prime...
Is a mehitza a barrier to attending synagogue?
25 bEllul Some time ago an ultra-Orthodox couple who are Harvard Ph.D’s and who live in Bene Brak, a haredi city here, initiated a meeting of Harvard alumni in Israel in order to discuss...
A Tale of Two Trajectories
19 b Ellul What was the most significant moment during the actual disengagement from Gush Katif? I suggest there was one key scene, seen by all, and commented on by none. Everyone who watched...
Western Wall and Disengagement
6 b Menahem-Av, Thursday Below two topics: a very short one, and a very long one. a) LAKEWOOD: Haaretz Magazine Friday 29 b Tamuz (Aug.5) had a 4 –page feature on the Lakewood yeshiva...
What is a nice leftist like you doing at the site of a right-wing demonstration?
Thursday 14 b Tamuz I just came back from Kfar Maimon, a sleepy,dusty village of 200 families in the middle of nowhere in the Negev, but also in the middle of the route from...
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