Loose Ends
We should acknowledge that beliefs mandated by the Torah are frequently described as “conservative” by American politicos. If we faithfully advocate for Torah ideals, we will not escape being cast as “partisan.”
Category: Judaism
Recidivist Repentance
It’s easy to feel disheartened, even despondent, as Rosh Hashanah approaches, at the realization that some of the things we did teshuvah for last year are things we need to repent for again this...
Jewish Continuity Isn’t a Zero-Sum Game
Not only are the Orthodox not contributing to the implosion of liberal Judaism, but they are in the forefront of efforts to hold it back.
Kashering Elephants and Donkeys
I appreciate that my friend of many years Rabbi Menken agrees with me that treating political affiliations like sports teams is wrong, as is attaching ourselves to political positions (or parties, as I wrote...
One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor
Our self-identification as “conservatives” on a host of issues is not, in actuality, partisan, but the unavoidable consequence of being shomrei Torah U’Mitzvos, Torah-observant.
Death of a Slogan
“Le roi est mort, vive le roi!” That’s the famous French declaration that was traditionally made when a monarch had breathed his last: “The king is dead. Long live the king!” Recent days have...
Name Game
A stylistically different but similar piece to a recent Hamodia one about “Open Orthodoxy”‘s dropping of that self-description, written for the Forward’s readership, can be read here.
The Bond of Shared Targethood
A rumination on black-Jewish relations, born of the recent Charlottesville rally, can be read here.
True Jews
You may know something about the Sicarii, or Sikari’im (or Sikrikim), the radical Jewish faction at the time of the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash. What you may not know is that their...
President Trump Is Right, Again
There is hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. It is easy to recognize the hate of 50 years ago; it takes discernment to recognize the hate of today.
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