In the presence of the Shechinah
A few weeks before Pesach, I tagged along with my wife for an extended weekend at Moshav Hispin under the auspices of Chayeinu (the Israeli branch of Chai Lifeline). The purpose of the weekend...
Naomi Ragen and the Plagiarism Case
by Sarah Shapiro In the Jerusalem Post of February 23, 2007, I read of a plagiarism charge against the author Naomi Ragen, and was prompted by that report to inform the plaintiff’s attorney of...
Not all antisemitism is equal
Frankly, I could not care less whether Winston Churchill wrote, “The central fact which dominates the relations of Jew and non-Jew is that the Jew is ‘different.’ He looks different. He thinks differently. He...
Rabbis are not Pooper-Scoopers
The influx of one million Russian-speaking immigrants in the 1990s was a blessing for Israel, albeit a mixed one. The mass immigration provided hundreds of thousands of Jews with a chance to reconnect to...
Apologizing for a Killer
Koreans took the news hard. Lee Tae Sik, South Korea’s ambassador to the United States, suggested that Koreans in the US fast for 32 days, one day for each victim. President Roo Moo-hyun devoted...
Constitutional Compromise
The perfect, it is said, is the enemy of the good. Striving for unobtainable perfection can leave us empty-handed when very good solutions were within easy reach. On the other hand, no religious person...
Chesed Shel Emes and the VT Massacre
AP will likely not pick up the moving story, reported on Yeshiva World, of the mobilization of forces to provide the final tribute to Prof. Librescu. If only we were half as good in...
A Jewish Hero at Virginia Tech
Amid the horror of the massacre at Virginia Tech, the story of a hero is being told. One brave professor blocked the door to his second-floor classroom, holding it closed until his students could...
Israel’s Bright Spot
Writing laments for Israeli society is not hard. Declining educational achievements, youth violence, hedonism, materialism, and corrupt politicians all provide ample material for those wishing to up-date Lamentations. Over the last twenty years, I’ve...
Vanishing Jews
In today’s Miami Herald there are four articles, each one an interview with an elderly Florida couple who survived the Holocaust. Their stories are tragic and also inspiring, but here is the fact that...