Yes, Purim is indeed a serious holiday. Joyous, yes, but serious too. With the leap year commemorative of Purim Katan, the little Purim just observed and now behind us, it is time to start giving … more

During a speech at a Mount Vernon shul reported in last week’s Jewish Star, former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman tried to reassure the Jewish community about Hillary Clinton’s Israel … more

It would be churlish to deny the remarkable achievement of Senator Bernie Sanders in decisively winning the New Hampshire primary.  For months, Sanders was depicted as an eccentric whose … more

Boy do I wish I had been in Denver last week. It’s at a time like this that I feel true love and homesickness for my hometown. When I sat down to watch the Super Bowl with some friends, one … 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

Prior to describing each of the garments of the priests, the Torah tells us, “These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a knitted tunic, a turban, … more

The second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed over 1,900 years ago. Thereafter, with prophetic insight, Chazal established the blessing of Boneh Yerushalayim  (Rebuild Jerusalem) in the Shemoneh … more

Two weeks ago, in my review of Rabbi Nachum Amsel’s “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Values,” I briefly touched on his essay on the Jewish take on gun control. Within that essay we … more

The radio squawked with commands. I took out my pen and pad out to write down a list of code words for map locations that I would need to translate into coordinates for our impromptu mission. This … more

BDS, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, may clinically die in 2016. State legislatures are passing bills that outlaw state authorities from investing public funds in, … more