The Audacity of Hopelessness
The President-elect once bought a home whose deed prohibited its resale or rental to Jews. He had associations with a number of dubious characters, some of whom did not much care for Hebrews. In...
Category: General
The Art of Menschlichkeit
A New York tabloid recently mocked the Bush White House. No news there; ‘tis the season, so to speak. The fodder for this ridicule, though, wasn’t political. It consisted, rather, of the artwork on...
The Power of a Mother’s Love
Recently I visited MESHI, a Jerusalem gan and school for children with serious disabilities. Most suffer from cerebral palsy caused by oxygen deprivation during birth or some subsequent trauma. Others were born with spinal...
“Married” and The Mob
From the agitation and anger of the crowds, the din of the car horns and the shouts of “Civil rights now!” and “Bigots!” one would have been forgiven for thinking that the protesters were...
Making the Cut
It was the very beginning of 1942 and the group of ten young men and their yeshiva dean, exiles in frigid Siberia, couldn’t believe their eyes. Betzalel Orlanski had somehow gained release from the...
Maimonides’ Microscope
In its purest form, the human spirit of inquiry is a holy thing. According to the renowned 12th century Jewish thinker Maimonides, nothing less than the Biblical commandment to love G-d is fulfilled when...
Finding the Silver Lining in the Meltdown
The global meltdown of financial markets guarantees that money – and our attitudes to it – will dominate public and private discussions for some time to come. Some of the consequences of the loss...
Momentous Moments
The weeks before a presidential election provide spiritual fodder for the week between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Throughout political campaigns, candidates and their handlers are keenly aware of the great toll a simple...
Coming to Judaism
Dear Cross-Currents Readers, I apologize for inflicting this essay (albeit in a different form) on you once again. But C-C has asked me to share this version of an article that, as originally written,...
Thoughts for Elul
In Elul, we each have to search for inspiration – an idea to focus on, a model to which we can aspire – wherever we can. Anything that wakes us up, scares us a...
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