Many years ago, an elderly man approached me following a lecture on the topic of emunat chachamim (the faith we are meant to have in our sages). “Do you know why I am no longer … more

Imagine the scene: A beautiful afternoon, with a breeze blowing a group of children and teenagers’ kites in the wind. The sound of their laughter carries across the sand. An innocent scene, … more

At the end of every command-course in the Israeli army, a questionnaire known as a Sociometric test is given to each cadet. It’s a pretty simple form: each soldier is asked to list five fellow … more

This week’s portion, Shelach, contains one of the most challenging stories in the entire Torah: the story of the spies. “Sh’lach Lecha’ Anashim Ve’Yaturu …” “Send out spies for yourselves…” (Numbers 13:1) 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

One of the central mitzvoth of Pesach is the injunction not to eat any chametz, or unleavened bread. Instead, we are commanded to eat matzah, the unleavened bread, for the entire week. And whenever we think of matzah we think of Pesach. Less known, however, is the special mitzvah of matzah, which we read of in this week’s portion, which seems to be completely unrelated to the festival of Pesach. more

His eyes haunt me; looking out as they do from a picture taken over seventy years ago. Just one drop of one story from amongst a sea of pain. more

Friday night. The sun had long since set, dark clouds hid the stars, and the wind was howling off the Shouf mountain range in central Lebanon. I had managed to quietly sing the Kabbalat Shabbat service while en-route to the ambush site, and even pray the evening service while in the staging ground, before giving my men a final inspection, but I had no idea what to do about Kiddush. more

Is it possible to be truly impartial in life? Consider this story from Rabbi Abraham Twerski, told to him as a boy by his father (published in Rabbi Twerski’s “Generation to … more

It seems almost trivial, but one of the difficulties of my time in Lebanon was the lack of space, a sense of being on top of one another.  During a scramble to get into the bunker when the … more