Israel

Lech L'cha: End the Occupation!

Lech L'cha: End the Occupation!
G-d was just testing Avram (Abraham) when G-d ordered him to “Lech L’cha (‘Go forth‘) to a land that I will show you.”  Unfortunately, Avram failed the test.   He went, but when he discovered that the land w... Continue Reading »
Oct 31
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

B'reshit: In the (New) Beginning, the Holidays Were Over!

B'reshit: In the (New) Beginning, the Holidays Were Over!
I’ve just returned from celebrating a raucous Shimini Azeret/Simchat Torah holiday (these are the same day in Israel) in Efrat, the only town (pop. about 10,000) among smaller enclaves in the Gush Etzion “block” of Jewish settlement... Continue Reading »
Oct 17
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Holidays , Israel

Why Didn't the Israeli Middle Class Protests Succeed?

Why Didn't the Israeli Middle Class Protests Succeed?
Why didn’t the 2011 Israeli street protests succeed?  Last week, I introduced veteran Israel-analyst Jim Lederman and his recent comments about growing consensus in Israeli society. Jim had made a passing reference in his blog to the fa... Continue Reading »
Oct 17
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Rejoicing in the Growing Consensus in Israel

Rejoicing in the Growing Consensus in Israel
This past Thursday morning, in my schul’s sukkah after services, I met a young British couple newly arrived on their first visit to Israel.  Returning to our apartments, they marveled at how silent Jerusalem felt on this first day of Sukko... Continue Reading »
Oct 11
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Matot: A Time for War

Matot: A Time for War
With the Jewish world focused upon “Operation Protective Edge” in Gaza, and much of Israel under constant threat of rocket attacks, our thoughts this week inevitably, painfully, turn to war.   We recoil (a verb with ironic double-... Continue Reading »
Jul 18
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Balak: Our Messianic Star Power

Balak: Our Messianic Star Power
In a small Russian Shtetl, the community council decides to pay a poor Jew a ruble a week to sit at the town’s entrance and be the first to greet the Messiah when he arrives.  The man’s brother comes to see him, and is puzzled why he... Continue Reading »
Jul 04
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Chukkat: Embracing the Double Standard Toward Israel

Chukkat: Embracing the Double Standard Toward Israel
There’s no doubt that the world holds Israel to a double-standard. Why is the media so fixated upon a postage-stamp Middle Eastern democracy when the world is rife with tyrants, atrocities, brutality, and all manner of discrimination? Why are P... Continue Reading »
Jun 27
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Naso: Why Most Jews Consider “His Holiness” Holy

Naso: Why Most Jews Consider “His Holiness” Holy
[This D’var Torah is dedicated to the blessed and holy memory of my friend and rabbi, Rabbi Haim Asa, z”l, of Bulgaria, Israel, Argentina, and Fullerton, California, who escaped the Shoah, fought in Israel’s War of Independence, was]... Continue Reading »
May 30
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Behar: The "Torah" -- not "Taco" -- Liberty Bell

Behar: The "Torah" -- not "Taco" -- Liberty Bell
One of the most popular parks in Jerusalem is Gan Pa’amon HaDror – Liberty Bell Park.  It's so named because of its replica of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.  Indeed, Liberty Bell Park was inaugurated in 1976 to hono... Continue Reading »
May 09
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Israel

Mi’yom l’yom: A Holocaust-Independence Day “Connection”?

Mi’yom l’yom: A Holocaust-Independence Day “Connection”?
As the current eight-day interval between Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha’azmaut (Israeli Independence Day) began earlier this week, I found myself pondering the validity and, if valid, the meaning of the following “sim... Continue Reading »
May 02
Posted in: Torah Commentary, Jewish Holidays , Israel
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Jewish Proverb