Parshat Ki Tzeitzi By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of August 20, 2010/ 10 Elul 5770 The "controversial" cover photo on the Aug. 9 issue of Time featured the face of a young Afghani woman whose … more

To be honest, that year, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to Chanukah, and hadn’t really had much time to think about it. Our armored battalion had recently come down from a few months up in Lebanon and, while I was thankful we would be spending the winter in Israel and not up in the freezing cold mountains of Lebanon, we were still in the process of overhauling the tanks; not a particularly enjoyable task. more

The washbasin and its stand were made of copper from the mirrors of the dedicated women who congregated at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting” (Shmot 28:8). There is much credit given to the women who donated their mirrors for the sake of the creation of the kiyor (washbasin). Who were these women? Why were they so special to the point of their being enumerated in such a fashion? more

Our parasha, Shoftim, contains the pasuk: “Be wholehearted (tamim) with the L-rd, your G-d.” (18:13) This English version reflects Rashi’s midrashically-based comment on our verse: … more

The first pasuk of our parasha, Yitro, states, “Now Moshe’ father-in-law, Yitro, the chieftain of Midian, heard all that G-d had done for Moshe and for Israel His … more

After introducing us to the concepts of not bringing an animal as an offering before it is eight days old, and after telling us that the animal and its parent (Rashi distinguishes between the … more

In July 2018, 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, were discovered and rescued with their 25-year-old soccer coach from a cave in Tham Luang, Thailand. They had entered the cave as part of a field trip but … more

Korach was swallowed up by the ground, but his spirit is still alive and well, and in the unlikeliest of places — British and American universities. Korach was the embodiment of what the … more

Carl Jung had an anti-Semitic streak and was, at least for a time, sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Yet he was one of the major psychological theorists of the 20th century, and his insights into … more

The Rabbis moralized the condition of tzara’at (often translated as leprosy), the subject that dominates both Tazria and Metzora. It was, they said, a punishment rather than a medical … more