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...
Spared the Responsibility
I confess to occasionally experiencing the temptation to add a few additional berachos beginning “she lo asani . . . ” to the list of those given by our Sages. Chief among those would...
Israel’s Ugliest Export: Journalists as Decision Makers
There are some exports that a country would rather do without. As far as Israel goes, the Israel Mafia would be one. The concept of a media fully mobilized on behalf of one side...
Obama, Jerusalem, and the Jews
Several weeks ago, Project Genesis was sent a paid advertisement from the Republican Jewish Coalition — which it then distributed. Although it was a paid ad, and we’d have accepted one from the National...
Heady reflections on a Sukkos adventure
I looked in the mirror this morning and realised that the bump on my head hasn’t quite gone away. It’s only a couple of weeks since Sukkos, so I thought I’d share the story...
The Missing Interviews
One of the perks (such as it is) of working for a Jewish organization is receiving unsolicited books and manuscripts in the mail. Most – like “new age” Jewish ritual guides, Middle-East manifestoes and...
FULL DISCLOSURE: Reflections on Barack Obama
Guest column by Chava Willig Levy Full disclosure: I believe that God guides history. The improbable, meteoric rise of Barack Obama offers a case in point. The facts are common knowledge: In 2000, Obama...
The End of the Special Relationship?
For those inclined to see the workings of Divine Providence in human history, the special affinity of the American people for Israel provides a happy example. If Israel could have only one consistent ally...
Who Says Jews are Smart?
YES, POGO, THE JEWS ARE THE STUPIDEST PEOPLE Arab-Americans overwhelmingly support Senator Barack Obama for president. So do Jewish-Americans. One of these two groups either does not care much about the Arab-Israeli conflict and/or...