For a genuine yeshivah bochur, nothing compares to the delight of grappling with a complex piece of gemara. This as well as the inspiration of Torah itself, explains why one is not allowed to study during the fast of Tisha B’Av. That would give one pleasure at a time when one should be feeling sad. (For most youngsters nowadays, the…
Jews of Syracuse
I often ask myself why I focus in my blog on the very small Jewish world and its problems (as well as its successes). Perhaps I should turn to the larger world picture. Too large a canvas can be too vague and impersonal. Besides, Judaism is a microcosm. Everything that goes wrong within our small community is a small version…
Can Israel Be An Ethical State?
Is Israel’s mission in this world the same as the role of the Jewish religion? You might think so, given the way Israel is excoriated for failing to live up to Jewish ethical standards. The Bible asks of Jews to try to be a holy nation. Nowhere does it suggest they are intrinsically better than anybody else. On the contrary,…
Secular vs Religious
If the recent ultra-Orthodox Charedi spat in Israel was simply about racism, I would not feel as furious as I do. Last week one hundred thousand black- and fur-hatted faithful gathered in Jerusalem to protest the Israeli High Court decision to send to jail parents of a strictly Orthodox school in the religious town of Emmanuel. The school was founded…
Love
I have been dealing too much with politics of late. So to redress the balance I am going to deal with love. Of course it’s a massive subject and far too complex to deal in one brief session. So be patient, please. More will follow. So here’s the first step, focusing mainly on the origins of love in Judaism. I…
Fanatics
Helen Thomas is an ancient journalist, employed by Hearst Newspapers in the USA. She has been White House correspondent for decades, incidentally, though not surprisingly given her ancestry, an opponent of Israel. She should have been pensioned off years ago, but her survival is due to the fact that she is such a character that she is indulged. Her outburst…