My Computer is Down!
Some computers crash, but only figuratively. My laptop crashed last week, but literally. Entangled in its own wires, it crashed to the floor with a sickening thud. The repairman told me it would take...
Wertheimer Hits the Nail Again
An article in the June issue of Commentary Magazine entitled “Whatever Happened to the Jewish people?” details the plummeting ethnic identity of American Jews. The findings of sociologist Stephen Cohen and historian Jack Wertheimer...
Lessons from a Tragedy
The tragic death last week of a one-year-old baby girl in Ashdod triggered tense confrontations between chareidi demonstrators and police in Ashdod and Meah Shearim. Southern District Attorney Iska Leibowitz initially insisted on nothing...
To Invigorate the Synagogue, Bring the Pastor
From the Religion News Service: PASTOR RICK WARREN TO MAKE FIRST-EVER APPEARANCE IN A SYNAGOGUE — Saddleback Church founder and best-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Life invited to Sinai Temple, following ground-breaking meeting with...
Only in Israel: Rabbinic Arbitration Invalid
In America, the law is pretty straightforward: if you submit a financial dispute to binding arbitration, it really doesn’t matter who the arbitrators are. We can submit a dispute to Larry, Moe and Curly,...
Conversion: It’s Not About Numbers
A few years ago, a television producer asked me to help locate interesting converts to Judaism for a documentary he was preparing for Israel TV. In the course of the project I met some...
Secular Kids and Religious Schools
Several days ago, an observant Jewish writer who identifies himself by the nom-de-plume “Jameel Rashid” wrote a post on his blog (which he calls “the Muqata“) concerning the above topic. He sent an email...
Celebrating Shavuos Alone
One of the joys of living in Israel for a Jew from Amerca is the way in which the rhythms of the Jewish calendar are felt in the public square. Almost all families sit...
Israel’s Courts vs. Judaism
Don’t be surprised. The same court system that has, for years, obstructed the city of Rechovot in its attempt to provide a home for Lev L’Achim and its Torah classes, now insists that the...
When Anti-Semites Implode
It’s a famous statement of the Torah: “G-d will wage war for you, and you shall remain silent.” [Exodus 14:14] We don’t always need to do the work ourselves; HaShem works for us. The...