Friday August 23, 2024 – י״ט אָב תשפ”ד וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ אֶת־כׇּל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ לֹא־תָח֥וֹס עֵֽינְךָ֖ עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְלֹ֤א תַעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־מוֹקֵ֥שׁ ה֖וּא לָֽךְ׃ (דברים ז:טז) “You shall destroy all the peoples that your God יהוה delivers to you, showing them no pity. And you shall not worship their gods, for that would be a snare […]

Friday Augus 9, 2024 –   ה׳ אָב תשפ”ד   According to the Jewish calendar, we refer to the days between the 1st and 9th of Av as “the Nine Days.” The Talmud teaches that “When the month of Av begins, we reduce our joy.“(Taanit 26b) The Nine Days inaugurates an even greater depth of communal […]

Friday August 2, 2024 – כ״ז תַּמּוּז תשפ”ד   בִּנְפֹל אוֹיִבְךָ אַל־תִּשְׂמָח וּבִכָּשְׁלוֹ אַל־יָגֵל לִבֶּךָ׃ (משלי כד:יז) If your enemy falls, do not exult; If he trips, let your heart not rejoice, (Proverbs 24:17)  כִּי  לֹא־תִהְיֶה אַחֲרִית לָרָע נֵר רְשָׁעִים יִדְעָךְ׃  (משלי כד:כ) For there is no future for the evil person; The lamp of the […]

Friday July 26, 2024 – כ׳ תַּמּוּז תשפ”ד Yesterday, I was proud to represent ARZA and the URJ alongside a group of Israelis, hostage families, and American Jews to raise our voices in protest over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s repeated failure to bring about a hostage deal and his insistence on an amorphous slogan of “total […]

Friday July 19, 2024 – י״ג תַּמּוּז תשפ”ד The sweet tenor of the singer’s voice wafted gently through the warm dusty night air soothing the crowd of Jerusalem concertgoers like a warm nectar slowly pouring over our souls. Swaying to the gentle rhythm of his band, mouths moved in unison forming the collective vocalization of […]

July 12, 2024 –   ו׳ תַּמּוּז תשפ”ד Upon touching down in Israel, as I did this week, one is confronted with one singular message: “BRING THEM HOME.” As many social media posts remind us, the walkway at Ben Gurion Airport is adorned with posters of the hostages still in captivity, and restaurants, cafes, and office […]

July 5, 2024 – כ״ט סִיוָן וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֮ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כׇל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְהֹוָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְהֹוָֽה׃ (במדבר ט”ז:ג)  They combined against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and יהוה is in their midst. Why […]

June 28, 2024 – כ״א סִיוָן תשפ”ד “Save us!” That was the cry for help from an ultra-Orthodox rabbi visiting the States this week. Lest you think he was swarmed by a pro-Palestinian mob on a New York subway, or stumbled upon a hostile college campus encampment, or even a white supremacist rally, his cry […]

Suggested Podcasts to listen to The Promised Podcast Few podcasts model the ideal of “hugging and wrestling” with Israel as well as The Promised Podcast. An insider view of how this country can warm your heart and make your blood boil, it’s a show by three folks who live in and love Israel even though it drives […]

Suggested Books to read Year Zero of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1929, by Hillel Cohen. Waltham, MA:  Brandeis University Press,  2015. Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth By Noa Tishby Can We Talk About Israel? A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted By Daniel Sokatch Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and […]