It is hard to describe what it takes to be a combat infantry soldier in the Israeli army, but those who succeed in the elite Golani brigade are few and far between. To be chosen from amongst them to … more

The calendar this year aligned to have rosh chodesh at the beginning of the week, and the celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday — Yom Ha’Atzma’ut — in the same week. … more

Our parshiot, Tazria and Metzora, focus on the halachot of tumah and taharah (the Laws of ritual purity and impurity), some of the most complex subjects in the Torah. An entire section of the Mishnah … more

It’s hard to say for sure whether the following fable was really told in the Warsaw Ghetto, but it’s grimly funny enough to warrant repeating. The story goes that at the height of the … more

A report last Friday added context and background to recent Israeli actions in Syria. The report, by the IDF, dealt with an incident in February, when Israel shot down an Iranian drone. That … more

A story is told of the great Hassidic master, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev. He had been visiting a town and attended prayer services in the local synagogue. One day, he stopped at the … more

Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed in Israel just a week before Independence Day, and for Israelis, those days are thematically as well as temporally connected … more

That so many Jews care so deeply about what an actress has to say about the State of Israel and its prime minister tells us a lot about Jewish insecurity in 2018. But while this isn’t the … more

Amid all the diplomatic maneuverings in the months that led up to the creation of the State of Israel 70 years ago, none are more curious than those undertaken by the Soviet Union. It’s fair … more

Not too far off, I hope to live the words of hashiveini v’ashuva el ha-aretz ha-tova, a phrase from Naomi Shemer’s song, “Al Kol Eleh,” that I think of often. “Bring me … more