Lag B’Omer (which begins this year on the evening of Monday, May 4) has been extra special for me — I was married on that day, and my wedding anniversaries were always celebrated with a backyard … more

A humble childhood, a meteoric rise to power, a fatal love affair, a confrontation with a giant. It’s no surprise that the life of King David, as told in the book of Samuel, has attracted … more

The sidrot of Tazria and Metzora contain laws which are among the most difficult to understand. They are about conditions of “impurity” arising from the fact that we are physical beings, … more

It has been a distressing time for our brethren in Israel. Sirens sound. Families run in and out of bomb shelters. A ceasefire holds, then falters, then holds again. People yearn for yishuv hadaas, … more

We have clocks, wristwatches, phones and more to tell us exactly what time it is. We have all those devices that come with alarms to wake us up. But in the days and weeks between Passover and … more

T hat “no man is an island” and “it takes a village” are just two of the clichés used to convey the realization that people cannot “go at it alone.” But just as it is vital that … more

This is not the column I expected to write. On the eve of the end of Passover in Israel, I was filled with hope that the holiday’s final day would be as many of our Chazal have indicated: a day of … more

Now that negotiations with Iran have predictably broken down before they ever got started, we can finally get back to the destruction of Iran’s “civilization” that Donald Trump promised with … more

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, I asked one of Kyiv’s diplomats how he would explain the difference between Russian and Ukrainian national identities to outsiders unfamiliar … more

There is a moment every Israeli traveler knows. You are standing in a European airport — at the check-in counter, passport control or in the security line — and you reach into your bag. The small … more