Thinking Out of the Box
Yaakov famously sequestered Dinah his daughter in a box as he prepared to meet Esav his brother. That, according to the Midrash Rabbah brought by Rashi (Beraishis 32:23). His reason for hiding Dinah, the...
Category: General
Defending Rabbi Sacks
A comment I received on my recent tribute to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l is important enough to deserve a more thorough response than usual. You’ll find the comment below, followed by my long reply...
“If Only…”
It’s human nature, when faced with something tragic, or even just disturbing, to say to oneself, “If only…” “If only I had done this… or we had done that… or not done this… or...
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z”l
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z”l One could have spent all day Sunday reading the tributes to Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and still not finished them. Without examining their content, the sheer volume of laudatory...
First Person Singular
It’s par for the course, in society today, to publicize ourselves uninhibitedly. Check out my blog! Visit my website! Self-promoting “shout-outs” are the way to go. But once upon a time, not so long...
What a Coronavirus Teshuva From Bnei Brak Can Tell Us About Ourselves
It has been the best of times, and the worst of times, for Torah Judaism. We’ve seen strong, sensible leadership in parts of the community, and failed leadership elsewhere. We’ve seen the resilience of...
The Threesome Chain
Over the past few weeks, I have been sending out short thoughts on the upcoming parsha to my list of subscribers, who receive links to my Ami Magazine column and other things that might...
When Global Religion Declines, We Celebrate the King
“First, know evil.”[1] Rabbenu Bachya argues that good is easily compromised by forces that tarnish and degrade it. Unless a person learns about them, his goodness he develops will be endangered. Better to first...
Saints, Real and Imagined: The Vatican of the Holocaust, and the Rev. Dr. William Harter
A young man was mindful of the advice he received about jump-starting conversation with a date. He had already struck out with the first two suggestions: asking about family, or about food. (No, she...
Memo to: the National Football League
There are reports that, if and when football season opens, you will be instituting, at the beginning of every game, the singing of the Black national anthem following the Star-Spangled Banner. Since there is...
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