Don’t Lose the Trees for the Forest
A Jewish people in crisis needs both the long view and the present moment You’ve heard the saying: don’t lose the forest for the trees. Keep your eye on the big picture. Don’t get so caught up in the details that you forget what you’re standing inside of. It’s good advice. Ancient advice. And right…
We Teach Who We Are: A Practical Guide for Classroom Educators
Teaching About Israel in Times of Crisis Table of Contents Introduction: The Educator at the Center Chapter 1: Understanding the…
The Global Jewish-Israel Syntheses Imagine: We Are All Israeli
I was thinking, growing up, my world was a tapestry of hyphenated identities. There was my Russian-American friend, my Italian-American…
Colonization vs. Decolonization
Historical Patterns of Conquest and Return in the Middle East The narrative of colonization and decolonization has become central to…
The Voice That Calls: Jewish Awakening in Our Time
Imagine being awakened at 4 AM by a voice calling you to something urgent, something that cannot wait for a…
In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream that “…this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: …that all men are created equal.” Dr. King’s dream extended beyond healing African-American suffering; his vision included “…all men…” society as a whole. Seventy years earlier, in 1895, Theodor Herzl…
Why does Gd repeat Gd’s status visa vie Moses and the Children of Israel in Exodus 6:2?: “And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: ‘I am the LORD…” ויְדַבֵּר אֱלֹקִים, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אֲנִי יְדוָד.
I was blessed to take part in a very important inniative called “Caravan for Democracy”. It is a project launched by the Jewish National Fund and a
I was recently asked at a talk that I gave why I emphasize the need for Tikun Israel to precede Tikun Olam. Here is part of my answer to the question: “Rav Salantar taught – first one fixes his house, then his community, then the world, and so on… I am extremely proud of the…
The world as it should be? Now how you gonna do that? Last week’s Torah portion describes Jacob’s dream (you know, the one with the ladder): “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of Gd ascending and descending…
As yesterday’s bus bombing in Tel Aviv unfolded, I was asked by a friend who works for Sky News to provide an eyewitness account of the events as they took place. I was then asked to take part in a live debate. The debate included 2 Israelis & 2 Palestinians (living in Gaza). It was interesting,…