Peres’s Folly
Uri Savir, co-founder of the Peres Center for Peace and the closest confidant of Shimon Peres, related the following incident in a recent encomium to the former president of Israel. “I once asked [Peres]...
When I Drifted Off the Path
A piece I wrote for the Forward about my short-lived disillusionment with Judaism when I was 12 years old can be read here.
Strong and Subtle Slanders
The New York Jewish Week was understandably unhappy at the comparison that a respected Modern Orthodox rabbi seemed to make between the paper and the rabid Nazi tabloid Der Stürmer, which, from1923 until 1945,...
Pair of Pieces in Haaretz
Reform Rabbi Eric Yoffie responded to a piece of mine that appeared recently in Haaretz. The piece I had written is at http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.626373 and his response at http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.627494 I hope to offer a counter-response...
Message From the Har Nof Widows
[loose translation:] We turn to acheinu Bnei Yisrael wherever they may be. Let us all come together to increase the rachamei Shomayim shown to us! Let us all accept upon ourselves that we will...
Do We Care About a Jewish Israel?
by Rabbi Pesach Lerner Opponents of traditional Torah values are trying to change the face of Judaism in Israel, and have laid out their plans in full detail. Are we listening? Are we going...
Statement from Agudath Israel of America on this morning’s massacre of mispallelim in Har Nof
This morning’s barbaric murder in Har Nof, Jerusalem of four Jews has left all caring people reeling – the tears are pouring this morning and our hearts are full of pain. This vicious attack...
Status (Quo) Update
ITEM: In the wake of the shooting in Jerusalem of political activist Yehuda Glick, allegedly by an Islamic Jihad member who was killed by police after he fired at them, and the subsequent closing...
Sanctity and Tradition – Where Are Things Heading, and Why Should We Care? A Response to R. Ysoscher Katz
by Avrohom Gordimer I must have really hit a raw nerve: Another peeping RCA rabbi. R. Gordimer, like his colleague R. Freundel, is peeping into people’s bedrooms (who sleeps with whom and who’s married...
Sefer Torah Abuse
We rend our garments if a sefer Torah is, chalilah, desecrated. If one should fall to the ground, it is customary for those present to undertake to fast that day. I don’t know what...