Nitzavim – How to Perform a Miracle
As is the case with any question about nature, when a child asks why the sky is blue, the answer you give (here, that blue light is scattered more than other colors) will elicit...
Pagers in the Parshah
Understood. This is what rabbis do. They will always come up with a connection between events of the week and the parshah. Trust me. That is not what this is about. I had earlier...
A Different Sort of Parting Shot
I think it time that I step down from my role as co-editor of Cross-Currents, returning it to Rabbi Adlerstein’s full editorial supervision, given my other obligations.
Parting Shot
Dear Michael, I’ll start with the least important point, to get it out of the way: Pas moi! Maybe check the last few pieces I posted before the one that gives you grief. You...
Ki Seitzei – Butterflies and Baker’s Bread
The ben sorer umoreh is judged al sheim sofo – because of where, on the evidence of the present, the youth’s life is headed. And his very existence, Chazal say, is the result of...
Rav Avrohom Ausband, zt”l
He strongly influenced the lives of thousands of talmidim and followers. They – and others like myself, who also gained from him – are in shock over his petirah. It occurred as we could...
Shoftim – The Consequentialness of a Court
In the U.S., offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting something of value in exchange for influencing a judge’s or other public official’s actions is illegal (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 201). The Torah’s prohibition of...
Jerusalem Tachtonim: A Reply to “Yerushalayim Shorts”
By Rabbi Michael J. Broyde Dear Rabbi Adlerstein, I always look forward to your posts on Cross-Currents, and “Yerushalayim Shorts” certainly caught my attention. The middle one, in particular, surprised me. You lament an...
Yerushalayim Shorts
You’d think that it might be kind of thrilling to participate in an event occurring for the first time in over 3300 years. It really wasn’t so much. Reflecting on the irony of its...
The DNC’s platform problem
Past Democratic conventions have seen a slow but steady decline in support for Israel in the party platform, ever since Barack Obama became the party’s nominee.