Philistines With Yarmulkes

Posted on: December 20th, 2006

If Neturei Karta (NK) did not exist, anti-Semites, Islamist terrorists, and neo-Nazis would have to invent it.

Diversity: The Uniqueness Of Our People

Posted on: December 13th, 2006

Diversity in Judaism is common in our history and liturgy. One can visit many synagogues and observe that the order of davening and the text of siddur vary from shul to shul. When I'm in Israel I often attend the services in a Sephardi shul where the prayers and the sequence of taking the Torah from the ark and replacing it are vastly different from what I'm accustomed to.

Chanukah: A Time For Superheroes

Posted on: December 13th, 2006

Doctor Leonard Samson, better known as "Doc Samson," strides down the corridor and into the classroom, massive muscles rippling beneath his skin-tight red costume. He sports a long mane of hair, just like his biblical namesake (except the real Samson's hair wasn't green, presumably).

An Unforgettable Forty-Year Shabbos Journey

Posted on: December 13th, 2006

At the restaurant farewell dinner, Professor Dov Zlotnick asked the dozen or so students of his forty-year-running Saturday afternoon Talmud shiur to continue their learning despite his approaching retirement to Jerusalem.

Manifesto For Survival

Posted on: December 13th, 2006

In late November, mobs in Paris once again shouted "Death to the Jew" - the very chant that came to characterize the Dreyfus case. The Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer team had won its match with the Paris Saint-Germain team. An angry mob surrounded a French Jew named Yanniv Hazout and yelled "kill the Jew," "dirty Jew," "dirty Negro," with many raising their arms in Nazi salutes. A black French policeman rushed to Hazout's defense. The crowd threatened to kill them both. The officer fired his gun and killed one demonstrator and wounded another.

Steve Reich: World Class Composer, World Class Jew – A Personal Reminiscence

Posted on: December 13th, 2006

The whole world seemed to be celebrating the composer Steve Reich's 70th birthday in October (October 3, to be precise). The New York Times ranked him "among the greatest composers of the century." The New Yorke rsaid he was"the most original musical thinker of our time." The Village Voice declared him "America's greatest living composer." The Guardian (London) summed it all up by stating, "There's just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history, and Steve Reich is one of them."

The Rocket Blitz

Posted on: December 6th, 2006

A fascinating question of history is what might have happened had Neville Chamberlain not resigned in May 1940 but continued on as British prime minister, with Winston Churchill never taking command.

Recycled Trash Makes Poor Policy

Posted on: December 6th, 2006

With the Republican defeat in the congressional midterm elections and the widespread perception that America is losing in Iraq, the notion that the Bush foreign-policy doctrine is now officially dead has moved from theory to fact.

Recent Events Give Lie To Walt/Mearsheimer Thesis

Posted on: December 6th, 2006

Fascinating, isn't it, to watch professors Stephen Walt (Harvard) and John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) attain near rock-star status by resurrecting the tired and discredited canard that U.S. foreign policy is dictated by a devious, dangerous and disloyal cabal known as the pro-Israel lobby - sort of a Protocols of the Middle-Agers of Zion.

Choosing The Right College: Tips For Jewish Students And Parents

Posted on: December 6th, 2006

One of the most important aspects of choosing a college is its campus life and sense of community. In order to do well academically, it is important to have a healthy and wholesome social life as well. There are a number of ways to get a sense of whether or not a college is right for you.

They Have A Scheme: Kramer Meets Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton

Posted on: December 6th, 2006

So three racists walk into a bar. Unfortunately, there's no punchline. What Michael Richards said about blacks at a Los Angeles comedy club was racist. His career should be over.

The New Israel: Annexing Liberated Judea And Samaria

Posted on: November 29th, 2006

Nearly 40 years have passed since Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria were liberated from the occupying Jordanians by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). That's the same number of years the Jewish people wandered in the desert before they were allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Beyond The Pre-Nup: Training Orthodox Attorneys to Practice in Rabbinic Courts

Posted on: November 29th, 2006

All we need to do to solve the Agunah problem for the next generations is to ensure the widespread use of the "halachic prenuptial agreement," right? Wrong.

The World Series That Wasn’t – Post-Season Musings Of A Veteran Baseball Scribe

Posted on: November 29th, 2006

It was a Simchas Torah to remember in the Detroit area. In an explosion of simcha, while we were engaged in hakafos, fans downtown were celebrating a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning that sent our hometown Tigers to the World Series.

The Gemayel Warning

Posted on: November 29th, 2006

Last week another nail was driven into the coffin of President Bush's vision of a free and democratic Middle East. The Syrians aren't even trying to hide their involvement in the assassination of Lebanon's Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.

Who Defends Israel?

Posted on: November 22nd, 2006

There are few places in Israel more serene and relaxing than the spa hotel atop Mount Carmel. As I sit here on the terrace taking in the spectacular view toward Haifa bay, the silence is shattered by the thunderclap of F16s echoing through the mountainside. When this disturbance recurs hourly, some find it slightly unnerving. To me it is so very reassuring.

Adam, King David, And The Gift Of Giving

Posted on: November 22nd, 2006

Just a month after being diagnosed with cancer, and now practically confined to a bed as a method of pain control, I couldn't sleep, so I picked up the Maharal's Drush Na'eh l'Shabbos T'shuvah, which I had been hoping to read prior to Yom Kippur.

My Zaidy Was A Pilgrim

Posted on: November 22nd, 2006

My zaidy a pilgrim? It may, at first glance, seem like a crazy statement, but it's true. In fact, all of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were pilgrims.

Leopard Or Lamb?

Posted on: November 22nd, 2006

The leopard isn't the largest of the big cats. It's not feared as a king of beasts. It's not the fastest, like the cheetah. Rather, the leopard is persistent. A solitary hunter, its sharp vision enables it to see what others can't. It dwells alone, stalking its prey in the darkness, able to kill animals much larger than itself. It often hauls its prey up a tree, to protect it from jackals and other scavengers.

‘It Is In Our Hands’ : The Aumann Doctrine, Unvarnished And Profound

Posted on: November 22nd, 2006

Last week, on a wet and windy night in Manhattan, hundreds flocked into the beautiful main sanctuary of Kehillat Jeshurun to hear Nobel-laureate economist and Israeli citizen Robert (Yisrael) Aumann preach the word.