Sixteen hundred Jews, mostly elderly and families with children, protected by barely two hundred fighters; the odds for the besieged Jewish quarter of the old city of Jerusalem in 1948, were beyond … more

Aong with all the challenging events of this part summer including the terrible kidnapping and murder of Gilad, Eyal and Naftali, I heard an incredible story: A teacher in a resource room for … more

It was her eyes that really captured me; there was an intense sadness there mixed with pain, and yet every now and then a flash of fire that seemed to suggest … defiance?  As the … more

The sport of rapelling (or sneppling, as it is known in Israel), is the art of  descending from a cliff by sliding down a rope which is sunken into the mountain above with stakes.  … more

One of the strangest dialogues in the entire Torah occurs in Va’Era, this week’s portion. At the behest of G-d, Moshe shares with the Jewish people that their redemption is at hand. … more

This Shomot-week column by Rabbi Freedman was previously published. His fresh columns will resume next week. There is a puzzling story in this week’s portion, Shemot, which occurs just … more

Is forgiveness a virtue? Should we automatically forgive those who have wronged us? What if they do not necessarily deserve it? And how do we avoid the inevitable feelings of anger and … more

There is an oft repeated quote, attributed to Albert Einstein: “The definition of insanity is to perform the same experiment over and over again, expecting different results” more

It must have been an incredible moment; carefully brushing away the layers of dirt, the small team of volunteers responsible for this section of the dig had found something. After 2,000 years, … more

Many years ago, I recall sitting with a newly married couple in their late thirties, who were struggling with making their marriage work after many years on the New York singles scene. Before I … more