Hidden messages in Obama ad
An ad has run quite a few times on the radio over the past few days, and it goes something like this. A mother’s voice says, “Eight times a day I have to test...
Momentous Moments
The weeks before a presidential election provide spiritual fodder for the week between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Throughout political campaigns, candidates and their handlers are keenly aware of the great toll a simple...
Unesaneh Tokef, Updated
Music in the hands of the old masters, wrote R Yehuda Halevi (Kuzari 2:64-65) could change people’s moods and dispositions. Alas, by the modern times of the 12th century introduced cultural degeneracy such that...
Barry and the Supremes
Trying, as always, to do my small part to ensure media objectivity, I present below an e-mail exchange I recently had with a JTA reporter on a topic that ought to rank very high...
Identity deficit
In his new book Defending Identity, Natan Sharansky once again mines his nine years in Soviet prisons for crucial insights on the major issues of the day. Defending Identity complements and enriches Sharansky’s previous...
The Pope and Child Molesters
This is not what the title suggests. Different Pope. Different molesters. Different group of bad guys. Having come this far, you might as well read on. The prevailing orthodoxy in the Jewish community is...
No Laughing Matter
It’s never a good idea to analyze a joke. All the same, I recently found myself deconstructing a stand-up comedian’s one-liner quoted in a newspaper article. It may have been because Rosh Hashana was...
Coming to Judaism
Dear Cross-Currents Readers, I apologize for inflicting this essay (albeit in a different form) on you once again. But C-C has asked me to share this version of an article that, as originally written,...
Thoughts for Elul
In Elul, we each have to search for inspiration – an idea to focus on, a model to which we can aspire – wherever we can. Anything that wakes us up, scares us a...
No Hekhsher, Not Tzedek
(The Jewish Observer, September, 2008/Elul 5768) According to Chazal (Nedarim, 40a), ideas that on the surface seem entirely constructive can in truth be quite the opposite. A contemporary case in point is the effort...