I can still see the terrified look on his face as we both realized, in the same moment, that we had been set up. more

The promises the Torah gives to the Jewish people for following the ways of G-d are idyllic: If the Nation would merely observes Torah’s commandments without sin, nothing bad would ever happen to it. more

Discerning between innocent and perpetrator requires the ability to hear the larger story. more

In times like these, one feels a sense of helplessness, of unworthinesss. How many of us, were we fit and trained properly, would be willing to go to the front lines, or send our sons to the front lines, knowing we or they might not return? more

At times like these, my thoughts often go back to Dani Moshitz, one of my closest friends, who was killed in a terrorist ambush in 1984 at the Kasmieh bridge in Lebanon. Thirty years later, his intense love of Torah and of the land of Israel remain an inspiration. more

Moshe said, “G-d was also angry at me … [as He] said, ‘You too shall not go there. Yehoshua bin-Nun … is the one who will apportion it to Israel. As for your children of whom you said ‘They’ll be taken captive,’ and your children who did not know good from evil this day – they will come there. To them shall I give it and they shall possess it.” (Devarim 1:37-39) more

Wars begin with words, with rantings by madmen and absolute declarations of intolerance. But so many other experiences also begin with words; love is watered with words; forgiveness, hope, prayers and peace, all are grown with words. This week, one woman’s words touched my heart as she has touched the hearts of an entire nation here in Israel. more

It’s been a long and painful journey these past 2,000 years. Some of us thought we were there, that the journey was about to end, but like the intense pains of labor just before birth, it gets toughest when you are close to the finish line. more

When the war with Midian did not originally go as planned, the Torah told us (31:14) that Moshe — normally a humble person with a checked demeanor — was powerful, resolute and strong, declaring that is war there no place for softness and for giving in and forgiving. more

After the battle with Midian, the Torah tells us that the generals and captains, who were officers over the army’s divisions, approached Moshe. They said to him, “We have taken a census of the warriors under our command and not a single man has been lost!” (31:48-49) more