Tanach, the Hebrew Bible, is remarkable for the extreme realism with which it portrays human character. Its heroes are not superhuman. Its non-heroes are not archetypal villains. The best have failings; the worst often have saving virtues. I know of no other religious literature quite like it.

Last week I shared a letter from a newly observant Jewish woman. She and her husband reside in a small suburban community outside of Los Angeles. Last year they came to consult with me on a personal religious issue. While they were both ba’alei teshuvah, there was one fine difference between them. He had become a ba’al teshuvah earlier than she and was therefore somewhat more settled in an observant lifestyle.

The Talmud (Berachot 26b) says, “tefillot avot tiknum” – “prayer was established by the avot.” The Talmud then uses the following verse (Bereshit 19:27) to prove how Avraham established prayer: “Vayaskem Avraham baboker el hamakom asher amad sham et pnei Hashem” – “And Avraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before God.”

Nearly 13 years ago, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak journeyed to Camp David to end the conflict with the Palestinians. With the approval of President Clinton, he offered Yasir Arafat an independent Palestinian state in almost all of the West Bank, Gaza and in part of Jerusalem. Arafat said no.

Iran will be able top produce 30 nuclear bombs a year and 100 within the decade, Minister of Strategy, Intelligence and International Relations Affairs Yuval Steinitz told a defense conference this week. He told the IsraelDefense C5I Conference that Iran could reach the capability of operating 54,000 centrifuges. “Iran is not North Korea or Pakistan [...]

The news that the Internal Revenue Service unfairly targeted conservative groups has brought renewed spotlight on a 2010 lawsuit filed by the pro-Israel group Z Street, which alleges it was also singled out by the IRS when applying for tax-exempt status.

Israeli soldiers on Tuesday arrested three Palestinian Authority security officers who murdered 24-year-old Ben-Yosef Livnat at Joseph’s Tomb two years ago but spent only one year in a PA jail before being freed. An IDF investigation of the incident confirmed Palestinian Authority claims that Livnat and other Jews tried to enter the holy Jewish site [...]

Lise Watier, Canada’s authority on cosmetics, said in a recent interview: “I was sure of myself inside and insecure outside.”

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The shekel-dollar rate has soared 4 percent in the past two weeks, with the latest jump today (Wednesday) prompted by expectations that the Bank of Israel will lower the interest rate again in June. The rate crossed the level of 3.69 shekels to the dollar on Wednesday after having dropped under 3.55 shekels to the [...]

In an editorial last week (“Circling the Wagons”) we noted the efforts by the administration and its supporters to dismiss allegations that the government’s spin on the Benghazi attack was designed to shield the president and that the IRS was improperly used to stifle opposition to Mr. Obama’s reelection.