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

Parashat Kedoshim’s verse, “And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, “You shall be holy (kedoshim), … more

The eggplant — a beautiful berry — is so popular that its iconic color is instantly recognizable far beyond the food, in paint and fabric and more. My eyeglasses are eggplant as is a … more

Rabbi Hayyim Angel is one of my favorite authors on the deeper meaning of Tanakh text and commentary. In this week’s column, Rabbi Yaakov Beasley, Tanakh coordinator at Yeshivat Lev haTorah who … more

All too often, when I ask campus organizations that are pro-Israel and deeply Zionist why they avoid using the “Z-word” in their messaging and literature, I’m … more

Salad days are really and truly here. We have survived another winter, made it through snowstorms and frigid temperatures, viruses, a bad flu epidemic and more. We ate heartily and filled our bodies … more

There is a little known test that officer cadets undergo in one form or another during Infantry Officer’s training that they almost always fail, which is precisely the point. It takes many … more

One of the fascinating midrashim on parsha Shemini pictures Aharon, the Kohen Gadol, brother of Moshe, leader extraordinaire, hesitating before going to fulfill his sacred duty, because on the … more

There is a tragic account of the last moments of Grigori Zinoviev, the Russian Bolshevik leader of Jewish descent who was executed by Stalin in 1936. According to the historian Donald Rayfield, on … more

Within hours of the attack, a consensus of talking heads and internet commentators concluded that it was Israel that bombed a Syrian military base. That consensus is probably correct, but if it was … more