September 5, 2025 – י״ב אֱלוּל תשפ”ה This week, the calendar collides with history. The 700th day of war in Gaza is upon us, a grim reminder of how what began as a just war of self-defense has turned into Israel’s longest in history, with increasingly dubious legitimacy – by far. And it is a […]
Friday August 28, 2025 – ה׳ אֱלוּל תשפ”ה As we approach day 700 of the war, Israel faces a triple imperative: to eradicate Hamas, to bring the hostages home, and to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. All goals are moral imperatives, yet each threatens to complicate the other. Hamas’s October 7 attacks exposed the […]
Friday August 22, 2025 – כ״ח אָב תשפ”ה There was a short Israeli news clip this week in which two young men in their 20s were pitted one against the other in a quasi-debate style interview. One wore a black suit jacket, a white button-down shirt, was clean-shaven, with slicked-back hair, and a black velvet […]
Friday August 15, 2025 – כ״א אָב תשפ”ה Twenty years ago today—August 15, 2005—the last orange ribbons of protest fluttered from rearview mirrors and synagogue pews across Israel. Israel’s disengagement from Gaza and four West Bank/Northern Samaria communities was presented as a unilateral act of pragmatism: to reduce friction, free Israel from governing 1.5 million […]
Friday August 7, 2025 – י״ד אָב תשפ”ה Liberal Zionism is facing its most profound reckoning in a generation. The events of the past week – specifically the declaration by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and subsequent cabinet approval of plan for the IDF to take control of the entire Gaza enclave even if it means the […]
August 1, 2025 – ז׳ אָב In a letter I received from my daughter at camp, she asked: “Abba, I was just wondering, what would we talk about if there were no October 7?” She is spending 7 weeks as a participant in the Chalutzim program, the Hebrew immersive program at URJ Olin Sang Ruby […]
Friday July 25, 2025 – כ״ט תַּמּוּז This week, we read one of our people’s most disturbing episodes. We read about it in the news and in this week’s Torah reading. In Parashat Matot, Israel is commanded to wage war against the Midianites in response to the events at Baal Peor. We learn that the […]
Friday J וּלְהִבָּנוֹת בָּהּ” “We came to this Land to build and be built in it.” Coming into Israel this week, I was presented with a stark reminder of the situation in which Israelis exist daily. Everyone who lands at Ben Gurion Airport and makes their way through passport control is greeted by the beautiful […]
July 4, 2025 – ח׳ תַּמּוּז תשפ”ה After 637 days of war, we are praying and hoping that the negotiations for a hostage return deal that would bring this war to a close will be successful, and that we will see a return of hostages as soon as possible. The 12-day war with Iran seems […]
אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ יְ֭הֹוָה כִּ֣י דִלִּיתָ֑נִי וְלֹֽא־שִׂמַּ֖חְתָּ אֹיְבַ֣י לִֽי׃ (תהילים ל:ב) “I exalt You, יהוה, for You have lifted me up, and not let my enemies rejoice over me.” (Psalm 30:2) A Ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced this week. Or, more accurately, a ceasefire was imposed and enforced. The ceasefire is a positive development, although […]
