Hearing that Rabbi Avi Goldberg was killed shook me up a bit more than usual, though I did not know him. Somehow, it’s different when you share the same last name, even if we’re not … more

The first rule of negotiating with Islamic terrorists is don’t. The second rule is, if you do it, do it with heavy artillery. Islamic terrorists don’t negotiate. They make demands in … more

Occidental College seemingly waved the white flag last week in its efforts to defend itself against charges of tolerating antisemitism on its Los Angeles campus. The school agreed to a … more

There is war, and then there is madness. In war, one has to fight, but when madness sets in, sometimes one has to run. Such was the question on a dark October afternoon in 1973, when the quiet … more

Quite some time has gone by since we celebrated the holiday of Sukkot. Frankly, there is much about that holiday that I have already forgotten. But one memory remains etched in my mind, one biblical … more

In Parshat Ki Seitzei we are told about a man who has two wives, one who is beloved ( ahuva ) and one who is detested ( s’nuah ) (Devarim 21:15). Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch notes that the term … more

An antisemitic scandal is gaining momentum after Jewish publications shed light on an American nonprofit that exploits the name of a late Jewish figure to promote an anti-Israeli … more

When I began exercising with a trainer more than a decade ago, the trainer asked me what my goals for improved health were. I explained to her that I was at the high end … more

A passage from the Haggadah on Pesach — evidently based on this week’s parsha, Vayetzei — is extraordinarily difficult to understand: Go and learn what Laban the Aramean sought … more

In this horrific post-October 7 apocalyptic world, Rashi’s dictum, “ Maaseh l’avot siman l’banim (the deeds of the forefathers are a signpost to the … more