There are moments in time one needs to forget. And yet, so often, these same moments, we really need to remember. Such a moment came into my life on August 9th (the twentieth of Av) 2001. more

What do you do when someone you love does something you hate? This week, this month, this year, has seen a terrible polarization in Israeli society. Jewish men purporting to represent what Judaism is meant to be, describing themselves as “religious” or “ultra-orthodox,” spitting on other Jews, throwing chairs and hurling derogatory slurs (often worse, in the eyes of Jewish tradition) at other Jews, rallies in New York declaring the Jewish world in a state of catastrophe, a Rosh yeshiva — himself a candidate for Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel — insulted, threatened and even spit upon at a Jewish wedding by other Jews, and now the Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel recusing himself from rabbinical duties in the midst of an Israeli police investigation into financial and sexual improprieties that may involve him; does it get any worse? more

Marlit Wendell is a Holocaust survivor who lives in Jerusalem. Marlit, her mother and older sister were able to survive Auschwitz and the war together. Their arms bear the imprint of three … more

Did you know that the success of the Entebbe mission was born of a question? In July 1976, an Air France airliner was hijacked and taken to the Entebbe airport in Uganda. After separating Israelis … more

Our parasha, Behaalotecha, is unique as it contains the only instance in the Torah with verses preceded and followed by an inverted letter nun (Bamidbar 10:35-36). One of the better-known … more

It was a nasty time in a nasty place: Ramallah, 1988, at Mutzav Sivan, next to the Arab “refugee” camps of Al Bireh and Al Amari during the first intifada. After a week of intense … more

There are moments in time one needs to forget. Often, though, these are moments we really need to remember. Such a moment came into my life on Aug 9th (the 20th of Av) in 2001. An beautiful … more

Chapter five of Pirkei Avot tells a poignant tale: “With ten tests our forefathers tested Hashem in the desert, as is stated … ‘they tested Me these ten times, and did not … more

One of the most difficult elements of the Torah and the way of life it prescribes is the phenomenon of animal sacrifices — for obvious reasons. First, Jews and Judaism have survived without … more

There are a number of three-word verses in the Torah. Some of them would seem to require no commentary, as only names are mentioned. See, for example, 25:14, when three of Yishmael’s children … more