The bulk of Parshat Ki Tavo is occupied by the Tokhacha, the great Rebuke that is promised to the Israelite nation in exchange for their infidelity to G-d. Prior to the curses and promises of destruction, there are 14 verses of blessing which, were we to keep our end of the deal, paint the Israelite existence in the Land as the most fantastic we could ever dream to experience. more

This week’s essay will focus upon some timely observations and precious words to learn and study for the remainder of the month of Elul. Rabbi Avi Shafran is perhaps one of the most perceptive observers of the Jewish scene today and the following observation by him deserves your attention: “For those who take this time of the Jewish year seriously — and all of us should — Elul’s days can be daunting...." more

To the editor: I very much appreciated your article on the recent Nefesh B’Nefesh flight [July 26]. Not only did you cover all of the facts, but the piece made me feel as if I actually knew the people that you mentioned in the story. more

Not for the first time, events elsewhere in the Middle East — the renewed bloodshed in Egypt and Israel’s decision to release 104 Palestinian terrorists because of American pressure — have pushed the Syrian civil war out of the limelight. But in the limelight is where it belongs. more

As usual, when the third week in August rolls in, I think back to the days when my kids returned from camp. After the initial nausea of opening the trunk wore off, we’d decide what special trip the family would take. more

During his negotiations to restart talks, Secretary of State Kerry reiterated President Obama’s position that Israel should begin negotiations by agreeing to return to the pre-1967 borders (they didn’t). Afterwards they criticized Israel’s move to build additional homes in existing communities. Put aside for a moment that Judea/Samaria is the only place in the world where the President of the United States believes people of a certain religion (Jews) are not allowed to live. What the President and the Secretary of State won’t admit to is, there is no such thing as pre-1967 borders. That imaginary “green line” running through the West Bank is the 1949 Armistice Line. But even the armistice lines were never meant to be a “border.” more

This week’s essay is dedicated to the memory of my dear neighbor, Dr. Jacob Mozak who would have been 100 years old this week. 1913, one hundred years ago, is the subject of a very interesting book entitled, “1913: In Search of the World Before The Great War,” by Charles Emmerson [Public Affairs, 2013]. Designed as a city-by-city survey of events prominent to each that year, the author gives us a unique historical panorama of a world on the brink of a military and political disaster. more

In our post feminist world, a case in Devarim 22 is very troubling. After consummating his marriage, a man finds that he hates his wife. Instead of following the Torah’s instruction for how to absolve a marriage through divorce (as described in Devarim 24), he chooses to invent charges against her that she was unfaithful, most likely to get out of having to pay her Ketubah. To save a few shekels, he tries to destroy her reputation. more

For the last 12 years, while I called Brooklyn my home, I referred to myself as an Englishman in New York, as I was born and raised in Manchester. That changed Wednesday, when I become a full-fledged Yankee in the Federal courthouse in Brooklyn. more

There is a strange little village alongside one of Israel’s borders that I came across on one of my reserve duty stints. Without detailing, for obvious reasons, its location, it was a curious place because I could not figure out how on earth it came to be in such a strange place. Any history buff who studies anthropology readily discovers that there are always historical, geographical and often economic reasons that will explain the nature of a city’s location and growth, and whenever I was on reserve duty in different corners of Israel, I always enjoyed my own secret game of sleuth, trying to uncover the mystery of how local villages came to be situated wherever they were. more