Parshas Beshalach — Arms Race
The fundamental struggle of humanity, stripped of all of history’s dross, is between two views: The recognition of a Creator (and the resultant meaningfulness of human life) and the belief that life is the...
We Pray for the President, Whether We Like Him or Not
Four years ago, when Donald Trump took office, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz (in)famously declared to the public his refusal to recite the Prayer for the Welfare of the Government (Tefillah Li’Shlom Ha-Medinah), which is read aloud on...
Defending Rep. Mary Miller Was A Moral Imperative
Once the full video of Miller’s remarks was released, it became apparent that those accusing her of “admiring Hitler” are guilty of nothing less than malicious slander.
Free Speech Isn’t Only A Legal Issue, It’s a Moral One
A thought about free speech, born of Twitter’s cancellation of President Trump’s account, can be read here. Should any Cross-Current readers wish to be on my weekly e-mail list providing links to recent Ami...
Parshas Bo – A Letter from Egypt
Chazal describe the Jewish people as a miracle. Our foremothers, for instance, were physically incapable, the Midrash informs us, of bearing children. Yet, despite the laws of nature, they did. Jewish history, no less,...
Parshas Va’eira – A Partnership of Opposites
Only one of the Ten Plagues visited upon Par’oh and Mitzrayim elicits a declaration of guilt and admission of Hashem’s righteousness from the Egyptian leader.“ This time I have sinned,” Par’oh admits. “Hashem is...
Pathetic Persecutors – parshas Shemos
As the Jewish population in ancient Egypt swelled, the Torah tells us that vayakutzu — The Egyptians “were disgusted” (Shemos 1:12). Rashi explains that “they were disgusted with their [own] lives.” A superficial reading...
Question and Answers
By Dr. Moshe Krakowski Earlier this week an essay that I published in City Journal about anti-yeshiva activists in New York State appeared online. Rabbi Adlerstein has generously invited me to discuss the article’s...
Parshas Vayechi – The Real Man in the Moon
In a good example of Talmudic humor, Rav Nachman reacted to Rav Yitzḥak’s recounting of what Rabi Yochanan said, that “Our patriarch Yaakov did not die,” with a wry question: “So was it for...
Parshas Vayigash – Being Pushed, Being Loved
One of the hardest of life’s lessons to learn, a truth born of challenges we all first encounter in childhood but that persist well beyond, is realizing that being shouldered with responsibility needn’t bespeak...