Every day of life automatically brings with it a share of frustrations and disappointments. Very rarely do things turn out for us exactly as we planned and hoped that they would. Some frustrations are relatively minor even in our personal scheme of things – my inability to easily change a halogen light bulb or carry a tune for instance. Other frustrations such as health problems and financial... READ MORE →
The Jewish state celebrated its sixty-fifth Independence Day commemorations this week. Though sixty-five years occupies most of the time span allotted to humans on this earth, in the eyes of history it is a relatively short time. Nevertheless, I think that one must marvel at what has occurred here in the Land of Israel over the past sixty-five years. And, the world has certainly changed... READ MORE →
We are currently in the season of the counting of the days of the Omer that will lead us to the grand holiday of Shavuot. In the tradition of rabbinic commentary regarding this process of counting the days between Pesach and Shavuot, the emphasis has always been on the countdown towards Shavuot – towards the revelation at Sinai and the granting of the Torah to Israel. Tradition forced us... READ MORE →
The new Pope of Rome, a 76-year-old Argentinian cardinal, ascends his throne with a murky past. Rumors have always swerved about him and his behavior during the terrible period of “The Dirty War” that engulfed Argentina, when the country was controlled by the military juntas. The cardinal was accused of complicity and of notable silence during that sad period of time that consumed tens... READ MORE →
Over the past weeks the plague of locusts in a relatively minor form infested our area of the world. The locusts apparently did do great though not catastrophic damage to crops in Egypt before crossing the Sinai peninsula and turning north to invade Israel. The Israel Agricultural Ministry sprayed extensively from the air to destroy the streams of aggressive locusts and achieved success in... READ MORE →
The problem with common sense is that it is none too common. In fact, one could characterize it as a rare commodity or even as an endangered species. Does not common sense tell us that Shas, United Torah Judaism and Bayit Hayehudi, all of whom proclaim their loyalty to Torah, should form one bloc in order to influence the country and its government? Yet we are witness to terribly vicious and... READ MORE →
There are numerous instances in the Talmud when the rabbis state that if a certain behavior is permissible to some Jews then why is it not permissible to all? The Talmud and the Torah itself recognizes exceptional circumstances, unusual pressures, and differing opinions that need be taken into account, but the Talmud never advocates differing standards of halachic behavior. It does recognize... READ MORE →
במסעי האחרון לארצות הברית, נאלצנו אשתי ואני כמה וכמה פעמים להיעזר בשירות הסעות פרטי. אשתי, בהיותה אדם הרבה יותר ידידותי ובהחלט הרבה יותר חברותי ממני, הצליחה בכל פעם לשמוע את סיפור החיים המלא של הנהגים שהסיעו אותנו ליעד... READ MORE →
On my recent trip to the United States my wife and I had, on a number of occasions, to use the services of a private car service. My wife, being a much friendlier and decidedly more social person than I am, was successful every time in eliciting the full life story of each of the drivers who drove us to our requested destination. All of the drivers were courteous, respectful and skilled at their... READ MORE →
The current spate of anti-Semitic media cartoons, op-eds and boycott movements serve to remind us that Amalek is alive and thriving as usual. There was a short period of time a few decades ago when many Jews were lulled into thinking that all of this baseless hatred and nastiness was a thing of the past. Even the most naive among us today realize that this is unfortunately not the case.... READ MORE →
