Hardened Criminals and Newborn Babes
The relevant question in converting to Judaism is not prior behavior but sincerity of future Jewish purpose.
A. Y. Karelitz M.D.
by Dovid Landesman I have an acquaintance in Los Angeles, a urologist who is also a well-respected talmid chacham. To establish his credentials let me say that he has completed three cycles as the...
Gimme That Really Old Time Religion
What happens when you mix the flair of a Southern Baptist preacher with a bit of Torah enlightenment? Watch. [Thanks to Dr. Shmuel Lebovics, Los Angeles]
Deaf To Peace
Decades, even centuries, of hatred do not preclude peace. But neither can peace be built on a foundation of hatred.
Conversion Standards, Hockey Bats, and the Academic Approach to Halacha
Where do we set the bar of observance for would-be converts? The row over standards waxes and wanes, but never quite disappears. A recent article in Tradition did not make the waves it should...
My (non-deductible) contribution
An e-mail arrived today from the president of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency appealing for money to enable the agency to stay afloat. I must admit that as a free subscriber to JTA’s daily news...
Reacting to the US Holocaust Museum Attack
There is no gainsaying the beauty and appropriateness of Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel’s letter to the son of Stephen Tyrone Johns. It demonstrates both the chochmah and lev of talmidei chachamim. There is also...
The War Israel Keeps Losing
by Brian Schrauger The war that Israel keeps losing is the war of world opinion, the war for individual hearts and minds. Consider recent stumbles. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza should have been named...
A Personal Touch
In the wake of the shooting attack at Washington’s Holocaust Museum last week, many organizations issued public statements. Most of those were similar to these words from President Obama: “This outrageous act reminds us...
Calling Evil by Its Name
Upon his first visit to one of the liberated death camps, Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “There are those who ask what are we fighting for. Let them come here and...