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...
Can Only a Black Person Explain the Black Experience
Can only a black person explain the black experience? Can only a Jew explain the Jewish experience? Can only an Arab explain Arab culture? Alexandra Duncan certainly thinks so, at least when it comes...
No, Thank You
When, as they approach Egypt, Avram asks Sarai to pretend she is his sister, he explains “so that it will be good for me and I will remain alive because of you.” (Beraishis, 12:13)...
Plumbing the Meaning of the Torah’s First Word
The Torah’s first verse is purposely unclear. As the Ramban, Nachmanides, points out, the deepest truths of how the universe was created are unfathomable and inscrutable, hidden, ultimately, in the realm of mysticism, not...
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 Devarim-Beraishis Bridge Idea
The Chasam Sofer notes that the Torah’s last word, “Yisrael” and its first one, “Braishis,” share the letters aleph, shin, resh and yud… spelling ashrei. Ashrei can be translated as “praiseworthy” or “fortunate.” That...
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...