In praise of Normalcy
Just before Pesach, the front pages of all Israel’s major papers were filled for days with three cases of horrific child abuse. In two of the cases, some of the children involved will likely...
Not Everything is Bleak
In the space of a single hour this evening, I heard: The former President of the most populous Muslim country on the globe declare that he will not rest until his country recognizes Israel....
Better Than Revenge
Does the deeply-seated need for revenge mean that we are trapped between two approaches, each of which is unsatisfactory? On the one hand, acting upon our instinctive need plunges us into unending cycles of...
Terrified of Judicial Reform
Boxing may be dead but those who still savor the sight of heavyweights throwing roundhouse punches at a fast and furious pace could do worse than the current donnybroook between Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann...
Pesach Hotels: A Second Look
My pre-Pesach column “Five-Star Pesach” generated, as expected, a larger than usual number of responses. The issue is a hot-button one for many. One friend wrote that going away to a hotel allowed him...
The Wright Stuff
Even before Senator Barack Obama unequivocally denounced Reverend Jeremiah Wright as the loon he is, I was willing to take the senator’s word for the fact that his erstwhile pastor’s rantings about America, the...
Sefirah, Sefiros, and Getting G-d Wrong
This is the time of year when even the non-kabbalist becomes aware of one of the most important notions in modern kabbalah – the ten sefiros. Every day of sefiras ha-omer, another combination of...
Pesach Questions 5768
Most communal rabbis find that Pesach is the time of year that generates more questions from congregants than any other. This year, amid the usual (important, but easily answered) ‘how do I kasher my...
Why the Chametz Law Matters
This time Tzippi Livni got it exactly right. “Davka because I am not a religious person, I want to preserve something in Tel Aviv that symbolizes the Chag; something in the public square that...
Moreinu HoRav Henoch Leibowitz zt”l – Reflections From Outside the Inner Circle
Funerary orators often begin their remarks by relating how they are at a loss for words to properly express their feelings. I don’t have that problem The thoughts and images cascade without end in...