Not long ago, I heard a powerful vignette from Rabbi Marvin Hier, the former director of the Simon Wiesenthal center. When Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter, celebrated … more

t should have been one of the most powerful and exciting days of my life; I can still see all the guys, in their dress uniforms, preparing for the final ceremony; instead, it was one of the most depressing. more

It was the first time, as an officer, that I came under fire. Well, sort of. We were stationed on the edge of the Bekaa valley, in Lebanon, and intelligence had information that terrorists might try … more

This week one of modern Israel’s greatest war heroes, Yanosh ben Gal, was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Givat Shaul. To honor his memory, this story is excerpted from a 2011 … more

Sometimes inspiration comes in the simplest of moments, like a good cup of coffee. In the fall of 2000, my unit was called up on special emergency orders (known as a Tzav Shmoneh). I still recall the … more

It is a conversation I will remember forever. We were in the midst of basic tank training, enjoying a brief respite from the grueling pace of maneuvers and marches. more

In 1948, things did not look promising for the Jews. The armies of Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, prepared to attack the new State of Israel as soon as the British pulled out, vowing to push the Jews … more

More than 1900 years ago, on the 17th day Tammuz, the end finally began. After two and a half years of siege, the Roman Legions broke through the ancient walls of Jerusalem and began their savage … more

What is the power of a hug? Sometimes it’s all about the context. Recently, someone sent me a story regarding a fellow named Yankel, a survivor of Auschwitz who began his journey there … more

Next week we commemorate the breaching of the Old City walls of Jerusalem by the Roman Tenth Legion on the 17th day of Tammuz in 70 CE, heralding the beginning of the end of the Jewish Second … more