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 more convenient hour. This is the essence of selichot – a voice that calls us from the comfortable darkness of spiritual slumber into the demanding light of self-examination and transformation. It is the voice that…
To Occupy or Not To Occupy Gaza
The morning of October 7, 2023, marked a watershed moment in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas militants breached the Gaza-Israel…
The Miracle of Persistence: Lessons from a People Who Refuse to Disappear
In an age when entire civilizations have risen and fallen, when empires have crumbled to dust and languages have vanished…
The Modern Erev Rav: When Jewish Identity Becomes a Shield for Betrayal
At a time when Jewish unity, Ahavat Hinam vs. Sin’at Hinam (baseless love vs. baseless hatred), and acceptance of Klal…
Approaching encounters with curiosity and not with judgement
Teens across Israel and in Jewish communities throughout America participate in transformative encounters that shape their Jewish identity, their relationship…
It is true that many of us were not alive to witness the birth of the modern State of Israel or any of the existential challenges the state and her people faced for that matter – but does that mean we can’t relate to those challenges, find pride in her accomplishments and stand upon the…
Not quite. It turns out that many Jews regardless of their citizenship identify with the People of Israel/Jewish Peoplehood. For some the relationship is prompted by threats against Jews and the state of Israel generating a tremendous amount of talk-back and interest. The recent attack on Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria, the rise of anti-Semitism…
I’m afraid so. Are we the People/Nation of Israel or the Jewish People? This could explain some of the disconnect we witness taking place among Jews (People of Israel) around the world. If Judaism’s ancestry is the tribe of Judah, and Judah was the son of Israel (Jacob), then aren’t we all Israelis?
Exodus describes the Israelites as a “stiff necked people”; I prefer a “Resilient People”. Resilience is an individual’s tendency to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of exposure to adversity to function better than expected. Resilience…
Yitro, (Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law), a priest of Median “…heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel…” freeing them from slavery and guiding them through the Sinai wilderness (Ex. 18:1). This notion of hearing/knowing all that God has done is magnified here in Israel throughout the Jewish calendar. Since making Aliyah this…