Anyone who has embarked upon the study of religion immediately runs into a debate of the meaning of the very word religion. Definitions abound and debates rage about whether a general definition of re...Read More
I knew Rabbi Twersky. We weren’t best buddies, or drinking pals, or even very close, but I considered him a friend. I met him several times in Boston and in Israel and always found him to be a great...Read More
“You can’t teach me anything about Europeans,” once commented the deputy mayor of Jerusalem. Europeans had killed his father. “You can’t teach me anything about Palestinians.” Palestinians...Read More
On Tuesday, the uncle of one of my Arabic-language students was slaughtered by an axe-wielding Palestinian man in Synagogue as he prayed. On Tuesday, the uncle of one of my Arabic students was slaught...Read More
We met Shirim at her family’s olive grove plot. It falls just outside the Betar Illit settlement. More accurately, it falls on the entire hill but the settlement imposed itself right on top of the f...Read More
Israelis control Palestinian water resources, directing two-thirds of it to Israeli settlers who use three times the amount of water Palestinian homes do. Palestinians must buy their own water back fr...Read More
In the Piazza della Rotunda of the Pantheon, at the heart of Rome, there was a rally in support of Israel held by the historic Roman Jewish community. Traces of trauma from World War II are here, sca...Read More
Army. This is the first word in my reading of Parashat Bamidbar, and it’s the most remarkable word. It is of course not a new word in the Torah, but it is a new concept. The Israelites are turni...Read More
While I am energized and inspired by the way the holiday of Tu B'Shevat has become catalyst for the Jewish environmental movement, since returning a few weeks ago from five months in Israel I am consc...Read More
A few years ago I was going through a very hard time. I said to my father, “I just want my dignity back!” My father, a Navy survival instructor, replied, “Jenny, no one can take away your dignit...Read More