בחודשיים האחרונים חלק גדול מהעולם היהודי, הציבורי וגם הפרטי, היה בהמתנה. החלטות חשובות, וגם עניינים שבמבט לאחור נראים אולי חשובים פחות, נדחו. "תתקשר אליי אחרי החגים" היתה המנטרה של רב זה לבקשות שהגיעו אליו במהלך תקופה... READ MORE →
For the past two months much of the Jewish world, both public and private, has been on hold. Important decisions, as well as matters that in retrospect are now seen as perhaps less important, were postponed. “Call me after the holidays,” has been this rabbi’s mantra to requests made of him during this time period. But now it is after the holidays and the crunch of the past postponements and... READ MORE →
I have been attending and participating in a cardiac rehab exercise program for the past fifteen months. I attend twice a week and spend an hour each time doing rather vigorous exercise under the watchful eyes of those in charge of the program. Even though I was only originally approved to the program for one year I have continued on my own past the mandatory time. All of my fellow... READ MORE →
The modern liberal Jew has redefined Judaism according to his or her wants and fashion. He or she has created a religion that has no fixed laws, that is built on vacuous slogans (see tikun olam), that embraces moral relativity and abhors tribal loyalties and defines Judaism in purely currently acceptable universalistic terms. This type of Judaism has removed all the peculiarities and uniqueness... READ MORE →
בחודש שעבר הספקתי להשתתף בשתי השקות של ספרים. שני הספרים היו, לדעתי, יצירות חשובות שמצדיקות קהל קוראים יהודי נרחב. האחד, שנקרא "גור האריה מפראג", הוא הסבר באנגלית לפירוש המהר"ל מפראג, הגאון האגדי שחי לפני 500 שנה, לפירוש... READ MORE →
I was able to participate last month in two book launches. Both books were and are, in my opinion, important works that warrant readership by the broader Jewish public. One book, “The Lion Cub of Prague” is an English elucidation of the the Bible and the classic commentary of Rashi from the legendary sixteenth century scholar and savant, the Maharal of Prague. The book was authored by Moshe... READ MORE →
Summer in Israel is always hot but there are some that feel hotter than most others. I don’t know whether statistically this summer is hotter than average, but to this old rabbi it certainly has felt so. But the temperatures have been extremely high in most parts of the United States as well, so that my family there and I sympathize with each other when we speak on the phone - and then all... READ MORE →
הקיץ בישראל תמיד חם, אבל יש כאלה שחם להם יותר מאשר חם לרוב האנשים. אינני יודע אם מבחינה סטטיסטית הקיץ הזה חם יותר מהממוצע, אבל הרב הזקן הזה הכותב מאמר זה בהחלט מרגיש שכן. הטמפרטורות היו גבוהות ביותר גם ברוב האזורים של... READ MORE →
Jews treasure their past and remember it vividly. The past comes to us not as a hazy dream but rather as a present and current reality. In the main, this is a positive achievement for it allows all later generations to experience the great moments of our history such as the exodus from Egypt, revelation on Mount Sinai, the consecration and later destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, etc. ... READ MORE →
The film, Ominous Skies - 1930 – 1939, produced by Destiny Foundation as part of its Faith and Fate series of the story of the Jewish people in the twentieth century is now screening in a number of venues worldwide. I have attended and spoken at a number of these venues and I find that I am invariably asked, by very concerned Jews, as to whether there is a parallel between our times and that... READ MORE →
